Lee Westwood

Born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, Westwood began to play golf aged 13 with a half set bought by his grandparents. His father John, a maths teacher, took up the game at the same time to encourage his son.

Lee Westwood one of the most successful golfers to come out of Britain and a veteran on the Ryder Cup team

 A talented sportsman at school, Lee played rugby, cricket and football. He had a later start at the game than many future tournament professionals, but less than two years later he was the junior champion of Nottinghamshire. In 1990 he won his first amateur tournament, the Peter McEvoy Trophy. In 1993 he won the British Youth Championship and turned professional. In 1996 he won his first professional tournament, the Volvo Scandinavian Masters, closely followed by the Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters in Japan.

Lee Westwood has set up a golf academy to pass his passion for the game on to as many youngsters as he can

He is good friends with fellow Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke and from April 2006, he co-owns a private jet with him.

Lee Westwood is good mates with fellow Ryder Cup team mate Darryn Clarke

Lee’s Profile

Career Wins:

Professional wins 31
European Tour wins (20)
PGA Tour wins (1)
Japan Golf tour wins (4)
Other wins (6)

Lee Westwood with the Portugal Masters trophy

In 1996 he won his first professional tournament, the Volvo Scandinavian Masters, closely followed by the Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters in Japan. His success continued in 1997 defending his Japanese title and winning the Malaysian Open, the Volvo Masters in Spain, and the Holden Australian Open, beating Greg Norman in a playoff. He also partnered with Nick Faldo in the Ryder Cup that year.

Lee Westwood and his wife Laure

Westwood has won 20 events on the European Tour and has also won tournaments in North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. His most successful year to date has been 2000 when he won seven tournaments worldwide and was ranked first on the European Order of Merit, ending Colin Montgomerie’s long run of European Tour dominance.

Westwood took a significant break from the game following the birth of his son Samuel Bevan in 2001, and together with a restructuring of his swing under David Leadbetter, led to him being out of contention in tournaments until his 2003 victory in Germany, his 25th worldwide.  Westwood returned to the winners circle in 2007 by winning both the Valle Romano Open de Andalucia and the Quinn Direct British Masters to bring his total European Tour wins to 18 and as a result he moved back into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings and is now sitting at his highest position of his career at No.3 in the world coming off a 2^nd place at the Masters in 2010 after leading by 1 shot going into the final round.

Lee Westwood is in search of his 1st Illustrious Major Championship win which has continued to elude him