close
close

topicnews · July 19, 2025

British Open 2025: Lee Westwood Bindes Open Record Saturday at Royal Portrush

British Open 2025: Lee Westwood Bindes Open Record Saturday at Royal Portrush


“It was a good back nine, wasn't it?”

Lee Westwood didn't need an answer. He already knew. A few hours earlier, he had become 4-over 40 at Royal Portrush, his surprising game finally cooked. But with six birdies, Westwood came back into the ranking with an open record-back-nine 29.

In 2019, this number of points in the first round here at Portrus Ryan Fox 'second-nine 29 in the first round. Only Denis Durnian posted one front of 28 in the second round of the Open from 1983 in the second round of the 1983 Open in Royal Birkdale.

Westwood would have had all of his own if it was not for the 15-foot hole of the Par-4-18. Lochs would have been.

“The putt, I'm not sure how it will be missed,” said Westwood afterwards. “I just said that on the front nine I looked around the golf course and said: 'Oh, my god, where I will do a few birdies to bring this back to half a reasonable one?' Then I just started playing well and then looked at.

“Just show that they are patient and never have to give up, right?

Westwood was considered the best player for years who never wins a major, although his days of big claims at the age of 52 are apparently over. In four years on LIV, he only gathered two top 10 places. He has 45th place in points this season, only nine full -time players.

But at the beginning of this week, Westwood argued that he came around a corner with his game. At the beginning of this summer, he had fired a final round at LIV DC, and the swing had only gotten better since then. The newly discovered trust inspired him to register for the first time in three years for final qualifying. He broke through his qualification game to earn a place in his 28th career championship.

And yet Westwood says that he had arrived at Portrush without expectations.

“I haven't scored any goals for this week,” said Westwood on Saturday. “That's why I was really not so disappointed when I was four to six years old because I thought it was the open championship. How many will I play more? You could also enjoy it.

“You could just as well enjoy the surroundings, enjoy the feedback of the crowd because they are great and just take part and find out what was going wrong with my swing.”

Westwood quickly found the answer. In the turn he was operated by half a tuna sandwich and raised a few mid-range birdies in No. 10 and 11 and then rolled in a 5-foot value on the Par-5-12. He stuffed his approach to the Par-4 14th, followed by a birdie bomb on the 15th par-4. Finally a 20-foot value on the 17th par-4, for his last birdie.

“I just wrote down a lot of 3 on my scorecard and I said,” That's good, “said Westwood.

Westwood will take place on Sunday at 5 Under, nine shots by Scottie Scheffler's leadership. He has no real chance to win a Claret jug this year. But at T-14 and a shot outside the top 10, he was able to secure his place in Royal Birkdale with a solid finish next year.

The key?

“Tomorrow I will have a tuna sandwich on the first T -shirt,” said Westwood.

And then he will go from there.