Westwood confirms move to the USA

Englishman to relocate to the other side of the Atlantic before year’s end

Go West: World No.3 Lee Westwood has decided to move to America in his pursuit of major glory

Lee Westwood has confirmed that he plans to relocate to the USA as he looks to improve his chances of finally winning a first major championship.

Westwood, 39, finished tenth at last weekend’s US Open in San Francisco – the 14th time in 57 major starts that he has finished in the top ten. Eight of those have come in his last 11 starts. He has also been a runner-up twice and finished third five times, but still victory eludes him.

This, along with the notoriously unpredictable British weather, has prompted the world No.3’s decision to move with his family to the other side of the Atlantic before the year is out.

“There are a number of reasons , but the main one is I haven’t got that much time left at the top and I want to give myself the best chance of staying there as long as I can,” said the Worksop-born golfer.

” with our weather, it is hard to practise when you want to practise in the UK.”

Despite the move, Westwood insists that he will retain his membership of the European Tour.

Westwood’s decision will come as a surprise to many, and for a variety of reasons, too.

For one thing, he and wife Laurae have a young family. Son Sam, 11, and eight-year-old Poppy are both at school in the UK.

Moreover, Westwood has long been seen as one of the stalwarts of the European Tour, a circuit he has won on 22 times since he joined it in 1994.

However, he did re-join the PGA Tour at the start of this season, saying that “it felt right in a Ryder Cup year”  and adding that he wanted to experience playing in the lucrative, end-of-season FedEx Cup Playoffs before the end of his career.

A number of the UK’s top golfers have moved to America in recent years. Ian Poulter spends the majority of his time in Orlando, as does fellow Englishman Justin Rose, whilst world No.1 Luke Donald has a residence in Northfield, Illinois.

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Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered

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