Westwood shoots 81 ... and he can't even blame bad luck
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Lee Westwood's hopes of recovering some semblance of form were dashed by a disastrous first round at the Portuguese Open here yesterday, after he finished the day 17 strokes off the lead.
The former European No 1 slumped to an 81 that included a quadruple-bogey eight on the 470-yard first hole, his 10th of the day. He is now 237th in the world and has to go back 20 months for his last top-10 finish.
"There was not really any bad luck to speak of. If I hadn't had any luck I wouldn't have broken 90," Westwood said. "Would you like me to be optimistic or full of doom and gloom? I've learnt to accept when it is bad – I'm not going to wave a magic wand and all of a sudden play well."
Already four over by the turn, Westwood went out of bounds from a fairway bunker at the first and from just short of the green in five, he left a chip way short and took two putts. Three holes later came his only birdie, but at the 432-yard sixth he hit his approach into water, leading to a double-bogey six.
The Swede Fredrik Jacobson led after an eight-under-par 64 in the first round, which knocked two strokes off the course record, while Phillip Price, trying for a record-equalling third win in the tournament, finished nine shots off the pace.
Only four of the 156-strong field broke 70. England's Greg Owen was delighted with his 66 to be three clear of the third-placed pair, Bradley Dredge and Carlos Rodiles.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments