Lee Westwood

Lee Westwood was born in Worksop, England on 24th April 1973 and was a talented sportsman from a young age, playing rugby, football and cricket at school. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Westwood had a fairly late start in golf, not picking up a club until the age of 13, but he developed quickly and by the age of 15 had already been crowned Junior County Champion for Nottinghamshire. In 1990 Westwood won the Peter McEvoy trophy, his first senior amateur tournament, and three years later he won the British Youth Championship, which encouraged him to turn professional.

It took a further three years for Westwood to win his first professional tournament, lifting the 1996 Volvo Scandanavian Masters. Having also won the Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters in Japan in his third year on tour, Westwood quickly found his feet and won a further four titles in 1997. Westwood was named Golfer of the Year on the European Tour in 1998. By 2000, Westwood had established himself as a star, winning the European Order of Merit for the first time and being named Golfer of the Year again. 

Despite his dominance on the European Tour, Westwood took time away from the game in 2001 to work on his swing. Having made changes, he did not return to winning ways until 2003 but his form then dipped again and he didn't win another tournament until 2007 when he began to play some of his best golf. In 2010 Westwood climbed the rankings to end the year as the number one golfer in the world, the first British player since Nick Faldo to achieve that feat. 

Westwood has been a consistent performer on the European and PGA Tours for many years but famously he has never won a major.  In 2010, arguably Westwood's best year, he finished second in the Masters and the Open Championship losing out to Phil Mickleson and Louis Oosthuizen respectively.  Westwood has also finished third or tied third in Major Championships on six occasions. 

In addition to Westwood's individual achievements he is also a well-established member of the European Ryder Cup team. Having made his debut at Valderrama in 1997, he has now played in eight Ryder Cups and has been on the winning side six times. In 2004 and 2006 he went through the competition unbeaten. 

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