• PGA Tour

Caddie injury a major setback for Westwood

ESPN staff
May 2, 2012
Lee Westwood has a lot of faith in Billy Foster © Getty Images
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Lee Westwood's summer plans have been dealt a significant blow after his caddie - and new putting coach - was ruled out of action for around six weeks.

Billy Foster, Westwood's long-term bagman, suffered a knee injury while preparing for a charity football match ahead of this week's Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina - an injury that will rule him out for between four and six weeks at a minimum, depending on any further damage shown up by a scan.

Westwood has only just stopped working with putting guru Phil Kenyon - appointing Foster in his place - and now faces the prospect of being without his caddie for the Players Championship and BMW Championship, and possibly even the US Open and Open Championship.

"I told him, 'It's a good job there's no big tournaments coming up, Billy'," Westwood quipped to the Telegraph. "Billy's an integral part of the team and is very important. I'm not sure how it will affect me.

"I have been lucky in one sense, as we found out this morning that Casey [Kerr] is available [to caddie this week] because Fred Couples has caught the flu and will be off for a fortnight.

"I'll have to see what I'll do for [the BMW PGA Championship at] Wentworth, but I'll make sure it's someone good. Billy can fill them in on my game."

It is an inopportune setback for Westwood, who is looking to break his major championship duck before age - the Englishman has just turned 39 - catches up on him. Much has been made of Westwood's agonising struggles to win a major - he has seven top-three finishes in the last 15 such events - but the man himself insists no one should be under any illusion about his state of mind.

"Listen if anyone out there does feel sorry me and thinks, 'Poor Lee Westwood, he's come so close', they should have a reality check," he said. "I get up every day and play the best courses in the world and I make a fortune at it.

"So I've a bit of advice for people who feel sympathy for me - don't."

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