Eighteen months ago Lee Westwood was near the top of the golfing world. In November 2000 he succeeded Colin Montgomerie as the European number one, he was ranked fourth in the world and had, in the previous 12 months, won five times on the European Tour.
He was the best Englishman, best Briton, best European, quite possibly the best player never to have won a major championship and a confident prediction to put that right sometime in 2001.
But as the British Masters began here yesterday, Westwood's circumstances have changed dramatically. He has gone from number one in the order of merit to 99th, from fourth in the world to 77th and is unrecognisable as the player who won 24 tournaments between 1996 and 2000.
Yesterday he had a 71, one under par, to be four behind the leaders, the Spaniard Santiago Luna and Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands. But creditable though that score was, compiled in wind that was significantly stronger in the afternoon, it is not what Westwood wants.
The Worksop man has missed the cut in his last three tournaments and desperately needs a really good score; something in the mid-60s, something the like of which he used to be able to summon almost at will.
What he needs most is a huge injection of confidence, the kind that comes only with good scores, for his poor play is beginning to reflect in his demeanour. He has always had a distinctive walk but as his career prospered there was a hint of swagger in it.
Now the eyes are mostly on the ground and the air is of a man expecting something bad to happen. In recent months, of course, it has. At last week's PGA Championship at Wentworth, for instance, he arrived on the 18th tee in the first round three under par. He hit a good drive and then, from the middle of the fairway, with an iron to the green, hit his second miles right.
It clattered into a tree, fell into the long grass and a visibly dejected Westwood duffed a chip and took six. At a hole that, for him, should be a routine birdie four, he had finished two under. The next day he took 75 and missed the cut - by one.
There was more of the same yesterday. Two under on the 17th, he hit a tee shot to eight feet and missed. He hit a good drive at the 18th, but his second was pushed into rough, he hit a poor chip and missed the six-foot par putt. Eighteen months ago he would probably have finished three under; yesterday it was only one.
Westwood's manager, Chubby Chandler, has no doubt what has happened. "He took his eye off the ball when the baby came along," he said. Westwood's first child, Sam, was born early in 2001 and he temporarily abandoned golf in favour of fatherhood.
By the time of the Masters in April Westwood had played only twice previously, hardly preparation for a major championship. Westwood is not in the US Open in two weeks' time, nor the US PGA in August. The way back would be to regain a place in the world's top 50 but that will be difficult because ranking points for winning events in 2000 are about to disappear.
Yesterday Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen and Spain's Santiago Luna set the first-round pace with matching 67s. The 28-year-old Derksen has not kept his card in his last two seasons on tour and his best finish is a tie for 12th at last year's North West of Ireland Open.
Only two shots off the lead was 49-year-old Des Smyth, who already holds the record for the oldest man to win on the tour, thanks to his Madeira Island Open win last year.
However, Paul McGinley, on 72, and Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke, both 73, failed to set the world alight on the day. Michael Hoey had a 74.
Guardian Service
(Brit and Irl unless stated, par 72):
(x) denotes amateurs.
67 - R-Jan Derksen (Ned), S Luna (Spa);
68 - P Price, T Levet (Fra), S Hansen (Den), I Poulter, R Russell.
69 - C Gane, R Karlsson (Swe), G Evans, M Farry (Fra), J Hugo (Rsa), S Struver (Ger), J Bickerton, (x) B Hume, D Smyth, B Lane, R Coles, O Karlsson (Swe), P Golding, P Hedblom (Swe).
70 - R Bland, T Bjorn (Den), P Eales, J Berendt (Arg), G Brand Jnr, M Foster, S Dyson, R Wessels (Rsa), F Andersson (Swe), G Havret (Fra), C Wi (Kor), C Montgomerie, B Davis, J Donaldson, J Rose, P Lawrie, A Atwal (Ind), R Muntz (Ned), S Webster.
71 - J Robinson, Y Wei-tze (Tai), R Jacquelin (Fra), G Orr, C Rodiles (Spa), M Roe, C Rocca (Ita), S Tinning (Den), N O'Hern (Aus), K Ferrie, B Dredge, L Westwood, S Torrance, G Rojas (Arg), J Van de Velde (Fra), B Teilleria (Fra).
72 - P Hanson (Swe), N Dougherty, (x) J Lupton, S Lyle, I Woosnam, T Johnstone (Zim), B Rumford (Aus), C Pettersson (Swe), D Carter, J Spence, G Emerson, S Dodd, H Stenson (Swe), S Khan, A Mednick (Swe), G Clark, P Broadhurst, F Jacobson (Swe), P Sjoland (Swe), P McGinley, J-Francois Remesy (Fra), T Dier (Ger), T Immelman (Rsa), D De Vooght (Bel), S Little.
73 - C Pottier (Fra), D Clarke, G Owen, M Mackenzie, S Gallacher, G Fox, M Cort, J Haeggman (Swe), P Harrington, M Angel Martin (Spa), R McEvoy, D Lynn, D Botes (Rsa), M Davis, D Drysdale, A Salto (Spa).
74 - P Casey, D Lee, A Oldcorn, H Nystrom (Swe), M Lafeber (Ned), M James, J Moseley (Aus), L Parsons (Aus), M Nilsson (Swe), A Butterfield, I Hutchings (Rsa), M Hoey, R Johnson (Swe), M McNulty (Zim), S Scahill (Nzl), H Bjornstad (Nor), J Manuel Lara (Spa), P Baker, Elliot Boult (Nzl), D Park, M Olander (Swe), E Simsek (Ger).
75 - D Fichardt (Rsa), A Coltart, A Marshall, S Walker, G Hamerton, J Skold (Swe), I Garbutt, M Pilkington, R Chapman, A Wall, C Suneson (Spa), M Lundberg (Swe), M Mouland.
76 - M Eliasson (Swe), S Delagrange (Fra), J Milkha Singh (Ind), E Darcy, R Claydon, M Maritz (Rsa), M Reale (Ita), S Webster, D Gilford, M Persson (Swe), I Garrido (Spa), M Vide-Hastrup (Den).
77 - S Gardiner (Aus), R Rafferty, N Vanhootegem (Bel), J Lomas, I Pyman.
78 - R Winchester, S Leaney (Aus), A Forsbrand (Swe), M Siem (Ger).
79 - D Edlund (Swe), N Kalouguine (Fra). Withdrew: W Bennett.
