LIV Golf star Lee Westwood embarks on a first this week with his maiden appearance at a senior event when he competes at Major the US Senior Open at Newport Country Club.
The Majesticks GC co-captain may have made his debut at a senior event before now after being eligible since turning 50 in April 2023, but a combination of a busy schedule and restrictions on LIV golfers playing at the Senior Open have meant that he has faced a wait of over a year to finally get his chance.
Speaking to the press before the tournament, he explained why the latter reason can only be bad for the fans. He said: “Yeah, no matter what the level of golf is, I think if the best players at every level don't come together and play, there's only one loser, and that's the fans watching. We need to somehow figure a way that we can get the best players playing against each other more often.”
Ever since LIV Golf emerged there have been concerns over the limited number of tournaments featuring the best players in the world competing against each other, and Westwood, who will be in a field that includes fellow LIV golfer Richard Bland, cited recent men’s Majors as examples of how fans respond when they do.
“The consensus of opinion of everybody that I talked to said it's great to see myself and Richard playing here,” he said. “I think, when you look at the US Open two weeks ago or the Masters or the PGA Championship, people are happy to see Bryson or Cam or Jon Rahm coming and playing in those big events.
“It's basically getting all the best players together in one tournament to compete against each other, and that's what you want at the highest level. You want all the best players there.”
Westwood also admitted the ongoing stalemate in negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund behind LIV Golf, and how it prevents players from the newer circuit to compete on the PGA Tour Champions, is a disappointment, particularly given what the platform for older legends of the game gives to the fans.
He added: “I think at any level it's disappointing they can't resolve it. But 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 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, yeah.”
Ahead of his belated seniors debut, Westwood, who heads into the tournament fresh from a T3 at LIV Golf Nashville, admitted that performance had given him confidence.
He said: “Obviously third place finish last week is my best result this season. Played well on the final day, which was good. I haven't been finishing tournaments off, so fun for the last four holes and finish that tournament off strongly has given me a lot of confidence going into this week.”
