In-form Lee Westwood is targeting victory in the Barclays Singapore Open to complete a resurgence in his form which has seen him climb the world rankings and inch closer to a place in the European Ryder Cup team.
The former European number one was runner-up to Australia’s Adam Scott in last year’s Singapore Open and the talented Englishman will be aiming to go one better when he returns to Sentosa Golf Club from September 7-10.
Westwood sank a 12 foot birdie putt on the final green to lift himself into joint second place in the Players’ Championship of Europe in Germany at the weekend and signal to his rivals that he was approaching his best form.
He has played superbly well in Europe recently after a poor patch in the United States started to sap his confidence.
The status of the Singapore Open has been reinforced by the five-year sponsorship deal signed with Barclays, one of the world’s largest financial institutions with a big presence in Asia, and the huge increase of prize money from two million US dollars to three million US dollars.
Scott will defend his title against a strong field which includes Ernie Els of South Africa, currently world ranked seventh, Japanese number one Shingo Katayama and the region’s finest led by current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Jeev Milkha Singh of India and last year’s leading player Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand.
Westwood has good memories of his second place finish last year over the fearsome par-71 Serapong course and the Asian specialist would love to add the title to the others he has won in the region.
Westwood is gunning for an automatic spot in Ian Woosnam’s European team for the Ryder Cup showdown with the United States in Ireland from September 22-24 after being an integral part of the successful 2004 side.
His second place finish in Germany saw him leap back into the world’s top 50 at number 47 and he could well be teeing it up in the Barclays Singapore Open with a ticket to the Ryder Cup stuck firmly in his back pocket.
Monday, 31 July 2006
