DUBAI // Lee Westwood was not sure whether to puff out his chest or hang his head.
True, the former world No 1 put together his timeliest round in weeks with a seven-under 65 on Saturday, but he birdied seven of his first 11 holes and was left wondering what might have been.
“I got in my own way on the back nine,” he said. “But at least a 65 gives me a better chance than I had this morning.”
No internal debate there.
Westwood jumped 15 spots on the leaderboard into joint sixth at the DP World Tour Championship and stands six strokes behind leader Henrik Stenson.
Unlike everybody else on the board, Westwood, 40, has some first-hand experience relative to coming home a winner in the Race to Dubai finale.
Westwood won both the inaugural season-ending tournament at Jumeirah Golf Estates in 2009, and in doing so, likewise secured the Race to Dubai season title.
He at least has the benefit of that double experience, not to mention 24 career starts in the city of Dubai over the years.
“You shouldn’t really think about the long term and the money list,” he said of the points race. “It takes care of itself.”
Westwood, winless in 2013, today could become the first repeat champion in the DP World’s five-year history, though front-runners such as Ian Poulter and Stenson appear pretty unflappable.
But at least he is in the hunt for the first time in weeks, which explained the broad smile on his face as a network cameraman shadowed him coming off the 18th green as he walked to the scoring centre.
After several strides walking parallel to the camera, Westwood playfully yelled, “cut”.
One of the broadcast commentators apologised, thinking Westwood had uttered a profane word, instead.
While it has largely been a year of transition for Westwood, it certainly has not been the stuff of coarse language.
Westwood is now a member of both major tours. He moved to the States in the off-season and hired a new swing coach, Sean Foley, best known as Tiger Woods’s latest teacher.
Westwood said he has got a couple of swing thoughts in his head — which is about as much as anybody can handle during live fire — and is working through them.
“I haven’t really been in sync all year long and been fumbling along,” he said.
“Sean gave me a couple of things, but I have always tried to figure some things on my own, too. At the end of the day, it’s my swing and I feel what I feel.”
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