Westwood happy to be back in KL

Lee Westwood was in nostalgic mood today as he returned to the scene of one of his earliest successes as a professional golfer.

Westwood claimed the third win of his professional career with victory at the Malaysian Open at Saujana Golf and Country Club’s Palm course in 1997, during a golden period in which he captured numerous titles around the world.

“Obviously, I have very fond memories of this place. I represented Saujana for three or four years and won here in 1997 and lost in a play-off in 1998 so I’m very happy to be back,” he said.

“The course has changed a lot. It’s a lot harder than I remember but I think it’s a very good test now.

“I wore the Saujana patch on my arm for four years so a lot of people here still watch out for what I do and have formed a relationship, so it’s nice to be back.”

Westwood is hoping to recover some of the form that brought him 26 victories between 1996 and 2000 as he looks to end a victory drought dating back to 2003.

“I was happy with the technical ability that I had back in 1998 and 1999 and should have stuck along the line that I was working on then,” he said.

“Although I won the Order of Merit in 2000, I made some changes then that I shouldn’t have. I should have worked on my short game more and tried to improve from there.

“But I finished last year well and it’s all going in the right direction. Hopefully, I can continue to do well and build some confidence.”

Like Westwood, New Zealand’s Michael Campbell, India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke and Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn enter the Malaysian Open knowing they have already secured their spots in the prestigious WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship later this month.

However, one player who will desperately gunning for victory this week is two-time winner Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand.

Success at the course known locally as ’The Cobra’ would make him only the second player after Australian Terry Gale to win the tournament three times and could also earn the 36-year-old a place in the WGC event in Tucson.