Westwood struck down by calf problem

A concerned Lee Westwood suffered a recurrence of his calf injury today and may be advised to pull out of his bid to replace Tiger Woods as world number one.

Three days after enjoying another Ryder Cup victory, Westwood hurt himself a third of the way into his opening round of the Dunhill Links Championship at Kingbarns.

The 37-year-old battled on to score a three under par 69, only three off the lead, but immediately went off for treatment and to consult his physical trainer Steve McGregor on the telephone.

“I felt it coming off the seventh tee,” said Westwood, who will end Woods’s reign with a first or second place finish on Sunday.

“It was a really steep downslope and it’s really aching now like I’m doing too much too soon.”

The match against the Americans was Westwood’s first competitive golf since August 6 because of the problem and he added: “Playing two weeks in a row was probably too much in hindsight.

“I should have gone back to rehab. I’m going to go and get treatment and see how it is, but I don’t want to get back to where it was.

“It improved a lot, but it’s still not right.

“I can’t load my right side. I just want to get off it as quickly as possible.