Lee Westwood thinks 29 years of loyalty to the European – now DP World – Tour should count for something when he asks to play for the record $25 million LIV Golf purse at St Albans next month.
The veteran is playing the Betfred British Masters – a tournament he has twice hosted – at The Belfry this week. But he finally confirmed he has requested releases from both main tours for the LIV golf event at Centurion in June “like many others have”.
He’s waiting now to see if this will be granted and whether he can tee up in the Saudi-financed tournament, promoted by Greg Norman, despite the potential of bans from the established tours.
‘The ball is in the tours’ court’
🗣️ "Formula One race there, Newcastle are owned by people from there, there's been boxing fights there, snooker and darts there…"
Lee Westwood speaks to Sky Sports after confirming he has asked for a release to play in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series opener ⛳ pic.twitter.com/o900Z90BKf
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 4, 2022
“It’s not the first release I’ve asked for,” he said. “I’ve not heard anything back yet.
“The ball is in the European Tour’s court and the PGA Tour’s court. We are just following the rules laid out and the protocols.”
The PGA Tour’s deadline for release requests passed last week, the DP World Tour’s is next week, May 10. The decisions will follow, but Westwood thinks he has long proved his loyalty to his home tour.
“I’ve supported The European Tour for 29 years,” he said. “I’ve gone over and won on the PGA Tour in ’98, but not taken my card.
“I have never been sort of driven by playing on the PGA Tour like a lot of the guys have. It’s been a goal (for many) to get on to the PGA Tour. It never has for me.
“My goal has always been to be a European Tour member and support this tour and kind of go in and out of the PGA Tour.
“I’ve hosted events on this tour and obviously played wherever I can through COVID and stuff like that. I consider myself a European Tour member and I’ve always tried to support The European Tour as much as I can.”
‘They’re not forcing anyone’s hand’
The Centurion Club in St Albans will host the first event of the 'controversial' Saudi-backed golf Super League in June ⛳ pic.twitter.com/XdzqbVotCq
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 16, 2022
Westwood believes that LIV Golf wants to play alongside the established tours, and doesn’t see any problem with that.
Westwood continued: “It’s being portrayed as an ‘us and them’ thing, the people from LIV Golf, all the reports I’ve heard, have said that they want to stand side-by-side.
“They’re not going up against any of the really massive tournaments. They want everybody to be able to play, have options. They’re not forcing anybody’s hand, so I believe.”
Westwood dismissed the question of the Saudis’ human rights record as one of “politics”, pointing out that the tour had sanctioned events in Saudi Arabia before. But he conceded the vast prize money available was his priority motive.
“If I said to some of my mates I grew up playing with in Worksop that I’ve been given an opportunity to play in a tournament, a 48-man tournament for $25 million, they would probably pull me to one side and say, ‘what is it you’re actually thinking about?’.
“This is my job. I do this for money. It’s not the only reason for doing it. But if anybody comes along and gives any of us a chance at a pay rise, then you have to seriously consider it, don’t you?
“People always have a problem with change. They are skeptical about it. People like continuity
“Whereas change in competition is good in any walk of life, I think. It shakes things up and keeps everybody on their toes and keeps everybody trying to improve their product.”
‘That’s a week off’
This week's host @Danny_Willett's ball striking 😍#BetfredBritishMasters pic.twitter.com/ZHNnm46Tj7
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 4, 2022
This year’s host at the Belfry, former Masters champion Danny Willett, said Centurion was not on his radar.
“No, it’s not,” he said. “That’s a week off.
“I think it’s a very difficult one. You’ve got guys in massively different situations in age, career, what they have achieved, what stage they are at. And I think (LIV golf) definitely suits certain people.
“We haven’t had many discussions between ourselves about it. I think it was a distraction for a few guys at times.
“My main focus has been to keep my head down and try to get as many points in the FedEx Cup and in Europe as possible. I think you did see a few guys fall off in form because maybe they weren’t concentrating on what they were trying to do.”