{"id":362383,"date":"2011-04-03T00:01:03","date_gmt":"2011-04-03T00:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/03\/golf-westwood-looking-for-magic-carpet-ride-at-augusta-reuters\/"},"modified":"2011-04-03T00:01:03","modified_gmt":"2011-04-03T00:01:03","slug":"golf-westwood-looking-for-magic-carpet-ride-at-augusta-reuters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/03\/golf-westwood-looking-for-magic-carpet-ride-at-augusta-reuters\/","title":{"rendered":"Golf-Westwood looking for magic carpet ride at Augusta (Reuters)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Tom Pilcher<\/p>\n

LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) – Lee Westwood<\/a> is hoping that
\nputting on carpets in the build-up will help him to a memorable
\nride at the U.S. Masters starting on Thursday as the Briton
\nseeks to land a long overdue first major title.<\/p>\n

Renowned as one of the best ball strikers from tee to green,
\nthe world number two\u2019s chipping and putting have not quite
\nreached the same heights however.<\/p>\n

Since finishing second at Augusta last year, the Englishman
\ndefied injury to help Europe win the Ryder Cup in October and
\nthe following month reached the pinnacle of the sport by
\nreplacing Tiger Woods<\/a> as number one.<\/p>\n

Westwood now just wants the putts to drop when it really
\nmatters\u2014on the super-fast greens of the Augusta National.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been on the carpet at home hitting a few putts because
\nthey\u2019re the quickest I could find. My stroke\u2019s starting to feel
\ngood,\u201d he told reporters in a conference call.<\/p>\n

\u201cConfidence in my game has moved on so hopefully if I
\nprepare the same this year it\u2019ll be good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Westwood has been agonisingly close to a breakthrough in
\nrecent times, with top-three finishes in four of his last five
\nmajors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really look forward to majors. I did do before but now
\nI\u2019ve begun to contend for them more often I look forward to them
\nmore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Holding the number one ranking from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28, when
\nhe was overtaken by German Martin Kaymer<\/a>, has clearly helped the
\n37-year-old Westwood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tick the number one spot off now, there are only
\nmajors left,\u201d said the twice former European order of merit
\nwinner.<\/p>\n

SEVE MAGIC<\/p>\n

If a caddie can provide the spark for a major victory then
\nWestwood is in capable hands.<\/p>\n

His bagman and friend Billy Foster caddied for the great
\nSeve Ballesteros, a winner of two Green Jackets at Augusta.<\/p>\n

It was the Spaniard\u2019s short game wizardry that had the
\ncrowds in awe, something Westwood is trying to feed off.<\/p>\n

\u201cBilly never stops mentioning Seve and the stuff he did,
\nwhere he got his up and downs from when he caddied for him
\nthere,\u201d said the Ryder Cup stalwart.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can\u2019t hurt can it? I\u2019m sure Billy formulates his game
\nplan and talks me round from a lot of what he\u2019s learnt from how
\nSeve played.\u201d<\/p>\n

Westwood was full of praise for Foster who linked up with
\nhis compatriot in May 2009.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s made a massive improvement, he\u2019s got good experience
\nround Augusta, he\u2019s very meticulous when we have practice rounds
\nand he\u2019s always jotting down notes. I\u2019m better for having him
\n\u2026 that\u2019s for sure,\u201d the Englishman added.<\/p>\n

Westwood slipped to 266th in the world after a form slump
\nfollowing his 2000 order of merit triumph but regrouped to land
\nhis second money-list crown in 2009.<\/p>\n

\u201cI figured I wasn\u2019t any good at anything else so I thought
\nI\u2019d try to be a golfer again although I should have taken up
\njournalism\u2014that\u2019d be nice,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n

Westwood said he always enjoyed the unique atmosphere of
\nMasters week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it. I like the tradition, the way everything is
\ndone, it\u2019s classy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just have their own rules, they\u2019re not bothered how
\neverybody else thinks. They\u2019re a law unto themselves, quirky
\nthings like no phones and no running, holding on to all the old
\ntraditions from the game of golf.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story
\nemail sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More:
\nGolf-Westwood looking for magic carpet ride at Augusta (Reuters)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tom Pilcher LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) – Lee Westwood is hoping that putting on carpets in the build-up will help him to a memorable ride at the U.S. Masters starting on Thursday as the Briton seeks to land a long overdue first major title. Renowned as one of the best ball strikers from tee to green, the world number two\u2019s chipping and putting have not quite reached the same heights however<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-362383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nGolf-Westwood looking for magic carpet ride at Augusta (Reuters) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/03\/golf-westwood-looking-for-magic-carpet-ride-at-augusta-reuters\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Golf-Westwood looking for magic carpet ride at Augusta (Reuters) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"By Tom Pilcher LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - Lee Westwood is hoping that putting on carpets in the build-up will help him to a memorable ride at the U.S. Masters starting on Thursday as the Briton seeks to land a long overdue first major title. 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