GOLF/HOUSTON OPEN:WORLD NUMBER two Lee Westwood is hoping this week's Houston Open will provide him with the perfect build-up to the Masters.
The Worksop golfer is back in action for the first time in three weeks and is confident his game is in decent shape as the countdown to Augusta continues.
Westwood was ranked top of the pile for almost four months but a slow start to the season saw him overtaken by Martin Kaymer four-and-a-half weeks ago.
The 37-year-old said: “I’m here to try to win. That would be great and I’d take a lot of confidence going into next week with that.
“I’m looking to play well and hit good shots and take the way I’ve been hitting shots on the range and striking putts.
“I’ve seen a big improvement in the three weeks since I last played so I want to take that onto the golf course and play solidly.
“I’m looking forward to this week and next week and this is generally the time of year I start to play fairly well and get in top form.
“I like to be competitive going into the week of a major, so that’s the reason why I play the Shell Houston Open.”
Westwood, who will climb back to number one in the world if he finishes in the top two, will tee off alongside Phil Mickelson and defending champion Anthony Kim at the Redstone Golf Club today.
Even that line-up has a Masters connection, with Mickelson, Westwood and Kim taking the top three spots at Augusta 12 months ago.
Westwood knows the conditions in Texas will not entirely mimic those he can expect in Georgia in a week’s time but he expects the speed of the greens to provide valuable practice.
He said: “The main point is they try to get the greens as quick as possible so, when you get to Augusta next week, it’s not as big a shock. They’re pretty immaculate here and run a great pace.”
A strong field also includes fellow top-10 stars Matt Kuchar and Steve Stricker along with major winners Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington.
A feature of this season, though, has been the number of unexpected winners, most recently Scotland’s Martin Laird at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Gary Woodland and Jhonattan Vegas, both in the field in Houston, also fall into that category, and Westwood added: “Every week out here there’s a strong field and you have to play well no matter who’s playing.
“You only have to look at the winners this year; they haven’t been the predictable ones, there’s been a lot of first-time winners, and it just shows the strength in depth of golf at the moment.”
The lowdown
Course: Redstone Golf Club Tournament Course, Humble, Texas.
Prize money: €4.1m (€739,000 to winner).
Length: 7,457 yards. Par: 72.
Field: 144.
Where to watch: Live on Sky Sports for 1pm today.
Time difference: Texas is six hours behind Ireland.
Weather forecast: A cloudy start is set to make way for a hot weekend, with light breezes picking up as the event wears on.
Course overview: The Houston Open organisers realised they were going to have to make their course more like Augusta if they were to attract star names in the week preceding the first major of the season, and so have made some changes. Most shots around the green will now be from a fairway cut or bunker, rather than rough as had been the case. Sloped banks around the fast greens have made this an excellent Masters warm-up. The 488-yard par-four 18th is the hardest hole, with the par-four fifth and par-three ninth also providing difficulties. The eighth and 13th are the two best birdie opportunities.
The challenge: The modern Redstone demands a tidy short-game, with fast putting surfaces surrounded by lots of tricky run-off areas. Solid ball-striking is essential though to cover the yardage and hold approach shots into the greens.
