Tweet
Enlarge Photo
World number one Lee Westwood of England shows off his trophy after winning the Nedbank...
World number one Lee Westwood called on Sunday for a unified golf schedule after winning the Sun City Challenge by a commanding eight strokes.The Sun City is a 12-man invitational tournament that was the first to offer a million dollars to the winner and attracted a top-class field through the 1980s and 90s.
But the advent of the Tiger Woods era has led to massively increased prizemoney in the U.S. and the man Westwood deposed at the top of the rankings has had his own tournament -- the Chevron World Challenge -- running at the same time this week.
Westwood was in a league of his own at the Sun City Challenge where there were just three other golfers ranked in the top 20 and the Briton produced some top-class golf to shoot a 17-under-par total of 271.
He told reporters: "I always enjoy coming here but there are so many big tournaments now around the same time.
"It's unfortunate that the different golf bodies don't talk, instead of working against each other, and get a schedule that suits everybody, especially in this financial climate."
Westwood has had earlier chances of success at Sun City, losing to Ernie Els in a playoff in 2000 and shooting an 80 in the final round in 2004 after leading.
The Englishman said: "In 2004, I'd won a couple of times that year, but I just wasn't as confident. The number one ranking certainly gives you a massive boost of confidence."
With Woods thundering back to form in California, it will be a tough fight for Westwood to retain his top ranking but $1.25 million for Sunday's victory will have done no harm.
(Editing by Dave Thompson; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
Powered by WizardRSS | Best Membership Site Software
