Oosthuizen: Westwood Will Be Fitting #1
On a cold, dark, Halloween night this month Tiger Woods is slated to finally relinquish his top World Golf Ranking to another player. That lucky player will be Europe's Lee Westwood, and fellow Euro-Tour competitor Louis Oosthuizen is all about it.
"Being world number one without winning a major just shows you how well you are playing," Oosthuizen told reporters."It is all about consistency. I always think it is better to play every week and be in contention than to play six or seven weeks and win one.
"I would rather be a player who is always up there and having a chance to win events and he is doing just that.
"It is amazing the way he has played and I believe he will win one. Being number one without winning a major will give him more confidence," added Oosthuizen, speaking at an event on Friday to announce HSBC as patrons of The Open Championship for the next five years.
Louis - O brings up a great point when discussing Westwood's consistency without actually winning a Major recently. While I agree that the man can play, and I agree that he is deserving of being a Top 5-ranked player... I'm not sure I agree with the way the WGR decides who can take over the top spot. Don't get me wrong: Tiger has no place on top of that list. None; especially considering the year he has had.
But why overlook players like Martin Kaymer, Matt Kuchar, or even Dustin Johnson? Are there more accomplished players this season than these players (and others)? Furthermore, with Westwood announcing he is NOT taking his talents to South Beach (or anywhere in the US, for that matter) next season, is it possible that the WGR #1 will be heard and not seen?
From a purely selfish American standpoint, Westwood competing mainly in Europe next season disappoints me. I understand that the WGR takes both the European Tour and PGA Tour into account... but as a fan, I want to see the best play in my backyard. It will be rather unfortunate if American fans will have to talk about some "mystical #1 golfer" who only plays overseas. In a way, at least from our standpoint, any mention of Westwood may be followed by the word "but...".
