• Dedicated green practice pays off for the Englishman
• World No3 to face Martin Laird in his first quarter-final
A professional golfer can hit the ball as far and as straight as he likes but, if he cannot chip and putt with the same excellence, then disappointment will never be more than a week away. Just ask Lee Westwood, who threw away a tournament in Dubai two weeks ago with a mediocre performance around the greens on the final day.
That failure sent the Englishman back to the practice green with his coach, Pete Cowan. “If you want to improve, then you need to tackle your biggest weakness,” he said on Friday after advancing to the quarter-finals of the Accenture World Matchplay in Tucson for the first time.
The hard work was put in and the results have been both immediate and startling, with Westwood making ruthless progress through to the final stages of a tournament in which he has never before played well. In his opening two matches, against Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium and the Swede Robert Karlsson, he took an early lead and held off his opponents with ease. His third round opponent, Nick Watney, went the way of the other two, losing the first two holes to birdies and never recovering.
Even when the American, who had beaten Westwood in this event the last two years, showed some resistance, his opportunities were limited by Westwood’s accuracy from tee to green. He rarely missed his target. When he did, he chipped and pitched his way out of trouble. It was exhibition stuff around the greens from the world No3. “This golf course leaves you with some tricky shots off the green but I’ve managed to find a reliable technique. A few of my chips even looked like they were going to go in, which was unusual for me,” he joked.
Two up after two, Westwood was three up at the turn, an advantage he added to with a birdie at the 10th courtesy of a magnificent approach shot to within 18 inches. There was no way back for Watney from four down and the pair shook hands on the 16th green.
Luke Donald won this event last year without ever being down in a match, or indeed having to play the 18th hole. Westwood has a long way to go before he matches that effort but so far, so relentless.
Next up is Scotland’s Martin Laird, who over-powered his fellow countryman Paul Lawrie on his way to a 3&1 victory. Laird is based in the United States and is an infrequent presence on the European Tour, which may explain why he gets limited attention and is seldom mentioned in a Ryder Cup context.
Perhaps this week will alter perceptions. At the very least the Scot is likely to give Westwood his most difficult match of the tournament so far. He hits the ball miles and, if his belly putter is jarring on the traditionalist’s eye, it is at least effective. He holes more than his share, making four birdies to end Lawrie’s run, and will fancy to make a few more against Westwood.
Good luck to him, although there will be some – not least those televising this event around the world – who will have a sneaking desire to see a Westwood victory on Saturday, if only because that would open up the possibility of a semi-final between the Englishman and Rory McIlroy, who advanced with a 3&1 victory over Miguel Angel Jiménez.
Both players were once managed by the same company but the Northern Irishman’s decision to switch agents last autumn has created something of a froideur between the two. They are not enemies by any stretch but they are certainly not as friendly as they used to be.
Of course neither would admit to even thinking about the prospect of meeting each other, far less conceding that it might be infused with a little more edge than the mere pursuit of world ranking points. “I don’t think you can look too far ahead in this tournament,” said Westwood, making reference to his previously poor record in the event. “I’m just happy to be looking for a restaurant booking on a Friday night.”
Saturday’s quarter-final tee-off times
10.05 (17.05 GMT) Peter Hanson (Swe) v Mark Wilson (US)
10.20 Matt Kuchar (US) v Hunter Mahan (US)
12.05 Rory McIlroy (NI) v Bae Sang-moon (PRK)
12.20 Lee Westwood (Eng) v Martin Laird (Sco)
