ORLANDO, Fla. – Lee Westwood turns 48 next month, and he’s already hearing about it.
“Everyone asks me when I’m going on the seniors tour,” Westwood said after making eight birdies and an eagle, shooting 7-under 65 and leading one Saturday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Regardless of age, Westwood thinks he’s quite capable of doing the work against those young lads on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel old at times.
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Westwood has made 13 starts at Bay Hill, with his first coming in 1998.
“I played the first few rounds with Gary Koch, so that shows how old I am,” Westwood said. (Koch is 68, at least.)
Westwood has other memories from that week. That’s when he fell in love with Arnie’s Place, even if he’s not always put back by Westwood who have just one top-10 form. He also played well enough to get into the final group on the final day of his debut.
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In fact, the Englishman only played three strong rounds in that first time. On Sunday, he made a third hole, made just two fouls and doubled the last one to close in 76 and completed 10 hits behind winning Ernie Els.
“I ended up in a few ambulances and [Palmer] we had a few words of choice to say when we shared vodka and tonic with winner Ernie Els in the locker room afterwards, ”Westwood recalled. “I was amazed at how I laughed and laughed coming off the final green, having finished with two double bogs in the last three holes. ”