Westwood splits with caddie Foster

World No.4 ditches looper as he struggles to overcome serious injury

Shock split: Lee Westwood and Billy Foster have gone their separate ways, the world No.4’s manager has revealed

Lee Westwood and Billy Foster – seemingly one of the strongest player-caddie partnership in professional golf – have gone their separate ways. Westwood’s manager Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler told the Daily Mail that the world No.4 had taken the decision following Foster’s slow recovery from a knee injury.

Foster has been out of the game for six months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during a game of football. Westwood had initially insisted that Foster would walk back onto his bag when he regained full fitness. But, with the Yorkshireman’s recovery taking longer than expected and Westwood striking up a successful partnership with Mike Kerr in his absence, the former European No.1 has decided that the time has come for the duo to split – particularly with his 40th birthday coming up next year and his opportunities to finally break his major duck fading with each season that passes.

“Billy was extremely disappointed, as you can imagine,” said Chandler. “He’s just had the most boring six months of his life. But Lee is at that stage of his career where he has to be a little bit selfish. He’s only got four or five prime years left and he simply can’t afford to mess about with this one coming up.

“Billy hopes to be fit enough at the start of next year to caddie for one week and then have one week off. But Lee is playing six tournaments in a row, starting in Dubai next February, and you can’t have Billy one week and then another caddie the following week.

“It was a difficult decision because we all know how good Billy is as a caddie and they’re great mates as well.”

Foster’s is the second high-profile figure to depart Team Westwood in recent months, following coach Pete Cowen out of the exit door.

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