Ryder Cup: Lee Westwood says he let down Darren Clarke ‘a little bit’

Lee Westwood has played in 10 Ryder Cups

LEE Westwood feels he let down Europe captain Darren Clarke “a little bit” by failing to claim a point at the Ryder Cup.

The United States beat Europe 17-11 at Hazeltine this month to win the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2008.

England’s Westwood, 43, was one of Clarke’s three wildcard picks but lost all three matches he was involved in.

“I was a captain’s pick and I would have liked to have performed well for him,” Westwood said.

Westwood, who has competed in 10 Ryder Cups, lost Friday’s foursomes with Thomas Pieters and then missed a putt from three feet on the 18th when he and Danny Willett had the chance for a half in Saturday’s fourballs.

The world number 50 then looked set to claim his first point of the weekend as he led Ryan Moore by two with three to play in Sunday’s singles.

But Moore eagled the 16th and birdied the 17th before Westwood bogeyed the last as the US regained the Ryder Cup with three matches still in play. 

Asked if he felt he had let down Clarke, he replied: “A little bit.”

Westwood said he played well in “spells” and dismissed criticism of his putting.

“People are always going to miss putts,” he said. “It was a lot of pressure on that situation and just one of those things. Sometimes I get judged unfairly on my putting because the rest of my game is so strong.”

Westwood ruled out succeeding Clarke as captain at the next Ruder Cup in 2018 but said the 2020 tournament was on his “radar”. bbc.com