Lee Westwood was at Anfield on Tuesday night for “one of those occasions you can tell the grandkids `I was there’” but he can relate to comebacks generally these days.
The now 46-year-old is back at the Betfred British Masters having given his own career a restorative shot in the arm at the end of last season with victory in the Nedbank Challenge, one of the European Tour’s lucrative Rolex Series events.
Only one comeback he’s witnessed compares to Liverpool’s Champions League “miracle” against Barcelona, though.
“It was one of those where you always sort of hold out hope that they might shake things up a bit and get some momentum,” said Westwood, better known as an avid fan of Nottingham Forest rather than the reds of Liverpool.
“A bit like the last day at Medinah in 2012, you kind of think this is not going to happen but think `let’s give them a scare’, and all of a sudden the momentum goes with you and the crowd get on your side, and it was incredible.”
For himself, the comeback was nice, but his attitudes have changed.
“I’ve different ambitions now, really,” he said. “I’m not the person that I was 20 years ago physically and mentally. I can’t really compare myself to the Lee Westwood of the late ’90s or even 2000s.
“I have to set new goals and have new ambitions. But I know now when I have a week on and I’m playing well and my game is in good shape, I can still contend at any level, I can play well on the long courses like Dubai and the short ones.
“It’s just a case of getting everything in shape for that week.”
And that opportunity certainly applies at Hillside this week, given the tournament and the course.
“It’s one of those great English links golf courses,” he said. “Over the years, unfortunately technology has sort of taken over it a little bit, with regards to length.
“But I’ve always played it and thought it was every bit as good as (Royal Birkdale) next door, just without the length.
“It’s one of those like hidden gems that a lot of people don’t play, but if they can, they just love it. Everything just looks great, this week. It’s very fair, and it just sets up lovely.”
His only thing is that he feels a little undercooked, with just two events in three months.
“It’s not really enough, especially not enough for me,” he added. “I need to be competitive more than that to get sort of match fit, and I have sort of a run of tournaments now until the end of the year.
“I’ve played five so far this year, and I think I’ll get up to about 22 or 23, so 17 and 18 for the second half of the season. That is quite a lot, really, for an old man like me.”
