England’s veteran golfer Lee Westwood has slammed R&A and the DP World Tour for being denied entry into the Senior Open. He accused R&A of pandering to the DP World Tour’s stance.
The Senior Open, the last Major event on the Senior Tour, is scheduled to occur from July 25 to 28 at Carnoustie. Nevertheless, Westwood and other professionals associated with LIV will not participate in the Major, which is jointly owned by R&A and the European Tour.
Westwood recently made an appearance on the Rough Cut podcast, which is hosted by Peter Finch. During the podcast, he strongly criticized both the R&A and the European Tour. Interestingly, he mentioned that the Senior Open was the only Major tournament he couldn’t participate in.
“They pander to the European Tour and say if we pay our fines – I think my outstanding fines are £850,000 or something like that,” he said, as per Bunkered. “I’m not paying them. I disagree with the way they’ve been handed out. So that’s why I can’t play in the Senior Open Championship. I think the fans lose out personally.”
Westwood, who has not yet settled the fines imposed on him by the DP World Tour for his participation in the Saudi-backed circuit, remains ineligible to compete in the Senior Open despite meeting the age requirement of 50. Along with a few other players, he faced bans from the European Tour.
In contrast, Richard Bland recently made history as the first LIV Golf professional to secure a senior Major championship victory at the Senior PGA Championship. Although he received a special exemption from the PGA of America to participate in the event, he is not qualified to compete in other tournaments on the Senior Tour.
What’s next for Lee Westwood?
Lee Westwood is gearing up for the LIV Golf Houston tournament starting on June 7 at the Golf Club of Houston. He was spotted at LIV Golf Singapore just last month, finishing at 4-over and securing 49th place.
Westwood’s performance this season has been below par, with his highest finish being T32 at the LIV Golf Maykoba. His best score of 8-under was at LIV Golf Adelaide, where he finished T34. Currently, he is tied for 53rd place in the LIV’s season standings.
Lee Westwood has not secured a victory on the Saudi-backed circuit thus far. Although he achieved two top-10 finishes during the inaugural season two years ago, his performance has faced challenges since then.
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