Lee Westwood sensing major chance after finally ending painful LIV Golf wait

Lee Westwood has stated he feels he’s playing the best golf that he has in years since making adjustments to his game – admitting that he hasn’t put in the necessary work that he had before joining LIV Golf.

Westwood has struggled for form since making the move from the PGA Tour to LIV in 2022, failing to compete at the top consistently while plummeting in the rankings.

But the 51-year-old finished in the top five in Nashville after carding a final round of five-under-par at The Grove, while being in a four-way tie for third place with Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann and Bryson DeChambeau.

And the veteran has stated that he feels he’s in a good place moving forward, while being set to join the over-50 ‘Champions Tour’ in the coming weeks.

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He said: “I started to swing well, and my whole game was coming together when I played at LIV Houston three weeks ago. Then I went home and did a little bit of work on it. I probably haven’t been working as hard on my game as I would have liked to, but I put in a bit more work in the week off.

“I went to Nashville and carried on really with that theme, those swing thoughts. Putted well last week. I sharpened my short game up because I’ve been playing more, and my game is in a really good place.”

The finish had been Westwood’s highest since September 2022, when he tied for fourth place in Boston while on the LIV tour.

While competing at the top this past weekend, Westwood is now set to join the over-50 tour in LIV Golf, playing against legends of the sport in their own competition – explaining why he has chosen to do so while perhaps taking himself away from playing against the top competition on the main tour.

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Westwood said: “The Champions Tour for me is important because people have watched myself play and other guys out here play for the last 30, 40 years, and they build relationships with those players and they’ve seen us grow as players and people.

“Yes, people want to see the youngsters, the new guys on the block coming through and contending, but they also want to see the guys they’ve made a bond with over the last 30, 40 years. Because, from what I’ve seen, watching a bit of the tournament last week, Padraig [Harrington] is still playing some great golf and it’s entertaining. At the end of the day, we’re in the entertainment industry.

“It’s nice that the USGA and PGA of America and the R&A are trying to find a way to get everybody together more often.”

The days of Westwood being on Europe’s Ryder Cup team looks to be over, but the veteran continues to make millions while playing with LIV – winning £788,000 for this past weekend alone.