(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Lee Westwood turned 50 on April 24th.The original champion of Worksop thus gained the right to play on the Legends Tour.And what better occasion to debut than the Senior Open Championship, which this year will take place from 27 to 30 July at the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales?Beautiful idea, if we weren’t in 2023, the year of transition towards the realization of an agreement which, to date, still remains a sketch with blurred outlines.And so, one of the players who made the history of the European Tour, has seen the door slammed in his face by the organizers because, as stated by Keith Pelley, CEO of the DP World Tour, the fines and suspensions inflicted on LIV Golf players , remain in effect.
Lee Westwood, statements
Lee Westwood owes the DP World Tour more than £800,000, so his entry request was rejected.The email he received reads, verbatim:“The Committee has considered your entry application and has no intention of approving it, as you have outstanding fines that have been imposed on you for violating tournament regulations that conflict with those of the Tour”“Therefore, you will be removed from the entry list and the entry fee you paid will be immediately refunded”.Westwood’s reaction:“I wasn’t aware that to play on the Senior Tour you had to be a member of a Tour, I thought it was ‘Open’”.Lee missed the fact that the Senior Open is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour…But Westwood will also not be present at the 151st Open Championship, which will be held at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club from July 20 to 23 next.He has chosen not to participate in qualifying tournaments, the only possible path for LIV players.And so, after 29 consecutive appearances, his name will not appear among the Thursday tee times.Lee Westwood is one of the few players to have managed to win at least one tournament on all continents. In 1998, 2000, 2009 and 2020 he was named European Tour Player of the Year.
