Westwood kept it in the fairway at Valhalla PGA
Lee Westwood, a member of the European team who lost the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla, shot a 6-under par 65 to tie Kevin Chappell for the early lead in the first round Thursday of the PGA Championship.
"I played well," said Westwood, who is in the discussion for the best player never to win a major. "Hit a lot of fairways. Putted nicely, which you need to do if you are going to shoot a low score. But I gave myself a lot of chances. All and all, there were no real weaknesses out there.
Westwood's best finish in the PGA came when he tied for third in 2009. He tied for 15th in the 2000 PGA at Valhalla.
"It seems a lot softer," he said of Valhalla. "They've changed a few greens and things like that. And it's certainly very different to the PGA when we were here in 2000. I only had three lots of nine (holes); I tried not to do too much in the practice rounds, because we felt like it was the kind golf course where it was all there for me and you just played it as you see it. It didn't really look to have too many tricks to it…It was a good strategic round of golf."
The 41-year-old Brit finished tied for 19th at the Bridgestone Invitational last week after missing the cut in three straight tournaments, including the British and U.S. Open. He finished in Akron with a 63 to signal his sharp play.
"Last week was a big week for me," he said. "Going into last week, I felt I was starting to turn the corner. I was starting to swing it a lot better. But that's no good unless you start converting into low rounds. And the first three rounds (in Akron), I played a lot better, and then I obviously got it going in the final round.
"I tried to keep it low-key in the practice rounds and carry that momentum into the first round, which I managed to do. Made nine birdies."
