Westwood inches closer to big-stage U.S. victory

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Lee Westwood inched closer to his first win in the U.S. since 1998 by taking the 36-hole lead at THE PLAYERS.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- It was a friendly little practice round wager.

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Second-round coverage

WEEKEND NOISE: Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods hope to make big moves back into contention the next two days. Column COURSE INSPECTION: Surprised by the low scores? You shouldn't be. Softened TPC Sawgrass will yield an unpredictable weekend. Column SUPER SLOCUM: Heath Slocum quietly moved up the leaderboard with a strong start and a superb finish. Story CUT WATCH: John Merrick's closing birdie moved the cut line and sent several stars home early. Story GLOVER LIFTS JINX: Lucas Glover accomplished a first in his fifth career PLAYERS start. He hopes more come this weekend. Story VIVA ITALIA: Francesco Molinari faced a tough decision. His choice paid off for him and his caddie. Story WESTWOOD'S WINDOW: Lee Westwood again has an opportunity for that major U.S. victory. Is he ready to seize it? Story

Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter vs. Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell. Eighteen holes. Too close to call.

Until the 18th when Westwood rolled in a birdie putt and collected his share of the winnings -- $100.

"You could see his eyes light up,'' said uber European agent Chubby Chandler.

It had nothing to do with the cash.

Westwood had pretty much walked through four rounds at Quail Hollow Country Club. Not really a post-Augusta hangover, just a bit rusty. As in a middle-of-the-pack tie for 38th. He and wife Laurae were supposed to take a little holiday to Sandy Lane Resort in St. James, Barbados the previous week, but that was cancelled because of the volcanic ash fallout from Iceland.

"That would have been even worse,'' Westwood grinned. " I would have come here nine pounds heavier as well as rusty.''

Instead, the least talked about and definitely underrated -- on this side of the pond -- world No. 4 brought his A game. Maybe A-plus game.

Try following up an opening 67 with a 65. Try getting to 12 under at the Stadium Course midway through the week. Try taking a one-shot lead over Ryuji Imada and Francesco Molinari into the weekend and opening a mini-chasm of sorts between yourself and the rank-and-file. Did we mention he didn't miss a shot Friday? And has had just two bogeys in 36 holes?

It all started with that birdie putt.

Well, this week anyway.

Has anyone played with more consistency the last year than Westwood? He won the Race to Dubai last season. He has finshed T3, T3 and second in the last three majors (2009 Open Championship, 2009 PGA Championship, 2010 Masters, in order). He has three top-nines on the PGA TOUR this season; two more top-threes on the European Tour (he lost a three-hole playoff to Miguel Angel Jimenez at the Omega Dubai Classic).

Now this.

"I picked up where I finished off yesterday,'' Westwood said. "Really played very solidly again. Hit a lot of greens, hit a lot of fairways. Made a couple of nice putts coming in. So, solid couple of days work."

Solid? Kind of spectacular if you ask most folks. An approach to the 16th that landed 3 feet from the pin for eagle. Another birdie at 17 -- from 6 feet. Three consecutive birdies to start his second nine -- the front. A hole out on the eighth. A bunch of key par putts.

"They're the momentum ones,'' he said of the pars. "They're the nice ones to hole. I got in the wrong spot a couple of times, but that's what you're supposed to do. We're all aiming for that little white hole, and they are the momentum ones that keep rounds going.

"... It's funny how they go in when you expect to hole them, and when you stand over it without confidence how they miss. ''

Westwood is walking with a purpose this week. At the Masters too. Houston before that. And ...

He'll tell you he's playing the best golf of his life. So will everyone surrounding him -- players, Chandler, caddie Billy Foster. So well, in fact, he knows that major -- and his first win of the year and first in the U.S. since 1998 -- is coming. It's just a matter of when.

He came so close at the Masters before losing to Phil Mickelson down the stretch. He shared third the previous two majors.

"The British Open was difficult because we bogeyed three of the last four holes,'' Foster said. "At the Masters, he did pretty much everything right. The mood was upbeat.''

It still is.

"I keep coming back, don't I?'' he said. "Don't keep knocking me (down). I'm not going to go away. I'm just going to keep trying until one of them goes my way.''

Someone suggested he played well enough at Augusta to win. He said no.

"Obviously, I didn't play well enough to be wearing the Green Jacket,'' he said. "You either win or you don't."

It's that maturity, that realistic approach that's the difference between a 27-year-old Westwood reaching No. 4 in world and the 37-year-old in the same position.

A decade ago, Westwood had won nine times in two years (1999-2000). He'd finished T5 (1998) and T6 (1999) in his first two PLAYERS, too. Not long after, he walked away from the game. His family was more important.

It still is. So is golf. He's fought his way back to No. 4 again. The difference in his game today? He says it's better all-around. Chandler said it's off the tee.

"The quality of his hitting was nothing like it is now,'' he said. "Back then, he was chipping to 20 feet and holing it. Now he chips to five fee and holes it.''

And he's a factor at just about every big tournament -- the majors, the World Golf Championship events, the BMW PGA Championship -- not to mention the Race to Dubai. And THE PLAYERS.

Westwood had those two top-six finishes in his first two tries. He opened with a 65 in 2005, but cratered with a third-round 80. And, yes, he's always liked the course. He just liked it better when the tournament was in March.

"I thought it looked more like a major championship golf course when it was played in March, but having said that, we now play it in May,'' he said. "It's still a very, very good test. It's very close to a major championship test. It asks you to hit a lot of fairways. They can tuck the flag positions away where you have to aim away from them occasionally, a bit like Augusta or somewhere like that.''

As so-so as he played at Quail Hollow, Westwood stuck around to congratulate McIlroy -- after, of course, he teased Chandler that there was no way he was waiting for the kid. He was taking the plane and leaving.

That wry -- almost dry -- sense of humor is often lost behind the infectious grin. And the player? He's all too often overshadowed by Mickelson, Tiger Woods, McIlroy and countrymen Ian Poulter and Paul Casey. Yet the chasm between his game and those of Poulter and Casey is wider than Rae's Creek.

All of which brings us back to a moment a month ago under the big oak tree at Augusta. Mickelson was wearing the jacket. The course was empty and Westwood, Chandler, Foster and a few others were standing under the tree.

Westwood was grinning. There were a few beers in the crowd. And there was no consoling him or suggesting he look for the positives.

"He didn't need to be coached into saying anything,'' Chandler said.

Like he said Friday, he's not going away. He's not backing down. He's here to win.

If not this week, the next. Or the next.

Don't say he didn't warn you.