Westwood Stops the Questions

For more than two years, Lee Westwood had to explain why he was playing so poorly, why, after topping the European Tour Order of Merit in 2000, he hadn’t won in ’01 or ’02.

Westwood silenced the critics with a resurgent two-victory season in ’03 and after a fourth-place finish at this year’s British Open, made it clear that the past was behind him.

“I don’t think about it anymore,” Westwood said. “I’ve stopped talking about it and thinking about it.”

In 2000, Westwood ended Colin Montgomerie’s run of seven consecutive years atop the Order of Merit -- the European Tour money list -- but he dropped to No. 52 in ’01 and 75 in ’02.

Last year, he improved to No. 7; this year, he’s 14th.

“It’s nice to see me making progress with my swing and it turning into progress on the golf course,” Westwood said.

His British Open finish was his best in a major, topping a tie for fifth in the 2000 U.S. Open and a tie for sixth in the 1999 Masters, and it gave Westwood the confidence to declare himself ready to win a major.

“I would say I’m close to being good or I’m there,” he said. “Five years ago I was thinking I needed to make a step up to become a major contender, but then I realized that there is no next level. It’s just doing the right things here and there and fine-tuning your game and holing a few putts at the right time.”

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For 258 consecutive weeks, Tiger Woods has held the top spot in the world golf rankings, but that streak is close to ending.

No. 2 Ernie Els improved to 11.30 points and moved to within a point of Woods (12.24) after the British Open last week. It’s the first time anyone has been that close since Woods took the top spot from David Duval in 1999.

Els could have taken over the top spot at the British Open if he had won and Woods finished worse than 17th.

Todd Hamilton moved up 40 spots to No. 16 after his British Open victory.

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Phil Mickelson and Els are the only players with top-10 finishes in all three majors. Mickelson won the Masters, was second at the U.S. Open and third at the British. Els was second, ninth and second.

Chris DiMarco (sixth at the Masters, ninth at the U.S. Open) dropped out of that elite group when he shot 78-76 on the weekend at Royal Troon and finished tied for 63rd in the British Open.

There are only 10 others who have made the cut in all three: K.J. Choi, Vijay Singh, Nick Price, Retief Goosen, Charles Howell III, Steve Flesch, Shaun Micheel, Scott Verplank, Jerry Kelly and Woods, who has never missed a cut in a major as a professional.

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Michelle Wie, 14, is skipping the U.S. Girls Junior Championship this week and playing in the LPGA Tour’s Evian Masters in France.

It is the fifth LPGA event for Wie, who finished in the top 20 of her previous four.

She has played the U.S. Girls Junior twice, losing in the first round of match play in 2002 and in the third round last year.

Wednesday, she shot a one-under 71 in France and is tied for 25th after the first round.

Wie, who will be a high school sophomore in the fall, said skipping the junior tournament doesn’t mean she is turning pro soon.

“It could be in three years or it could be after college,” she said. “Right now I’m not a professional and it’s a game for me.”

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Erica Blasberg of Corona set a Futures Tour record when she shot a second-round 10-under 62 en route to winning the Laconia Savings Bank Futures Golf Classic last week in New Hampshire.

It was only the second professional tournament for Blasberg, 20, a two-time All-American at Arizona who chose to forgo her two remaining years of college eligibility when she turned pro after the U.S. Women’s Open on July 5.

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A public meeting to discuss proposed rate increases at Skylinks Course will be held Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Recreation Park Golf Course in Long Beach.

American Golf has proposed rates nearly double what they were before a redesign of the course, which is scheduled to re-open in October.

The Public Links Golf Assn. of Southern California has denounced the plan and will have a spokesperson publicly oppose the increase at the meeting.

Under American Golf’s proposal, weekend fees would increase from $22 to $45 for residents and $29 to $55 for nonresidents.

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Angela Park of Torrance won the girls division of the Westfield Junior PGA Championship by 10 shots over Jennie Lee of Torrance.... Jason Day of Australia and Mari Chun of Hawaii won the boys’ and girls’ divisions, respectively, at the Junior World Championships.... The seventh annual Sports Medicine Foundation tournament is Aug. 2 at Sherwood Country Club. Details: 800 SPORT-MD (776-7863) or www.wcsportsmed.com.