Lee Westwood hoping for a breakthrough

A member of the Europe’s 2004 Ryder Cup team that trounced the United States 18 1/2 -9 1/2 , Westwood is hoping to take the next step and win his first major championship.

If anything he should be comforted by the fact that he has had success here in the past, albeit as part of a team rather than in a major.

“Driving in here it was nice to sort of see where everything was and bring back a few memories,” Westwood said. “It’s always good to come back somewhere where you’ve played well in the past and you have good memories from.”

It’s the memories from the earlier majors that may be tougher to take.

Westwood tied for 11th at The Masters, but his real heartache came at the U.S. Open, where he finished a shot out of the playoff between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate. Westwood described himself as “gutted” to miss out on the Monday showdown at Torrey Pines but he also came away knowing his game was good enough to stand up in a major.

Playing in his 12th PGA Championship this week, Westwood’s best finish is a tie for 15th at Valhalla Golf Club in 2002.

Woods won the PGA that year, but is not in the field. The two-time defending champion has been out since winning the U.S. Open after knee surgery. So Woods’ absence and the good feelings that Westwood has at Oakland Hills make him as good a candidate as anyone to break a European jinx at the event as Scotland’s Tommy Armour was the last European to win the PGA Championship, way back in 1930.

“It’s amazing that a European has not won in such a long time. When you consider the strength of the European golf, especially over the last few years,” Westwood said. “The likes of Nick Faldo and Seve and Woosie and Bernhard and Sam and people like that. And Monty. Monty had a good chance at a couple and amazing that none of us would win.

The Euro victory drought notwithstanding, Westwood is confident as the season’s final major approaches having finished second at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational last week to Vijay Singh, just a stroke off the lead.

“I’m playing all right at the moment and I hope to carry that form through,” he said. “This will be a good place to start off winning. I’m carrying a lot of confidence through from last week.

“You look at the Bridgestone thing; Vijay, he doesn’t play well for three months and he wins one and he starts playing well again. So as golfers, it’s a game of confidence, and you do pick up things and sort of cling on to things that are good that have happened to you in the past.”