Westy - Hong Kong a mistake

Westwood: still in the race

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Lee Westwood has acknowledged he was probably wrong to compete at last week's Hong Kong Open.

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The Englishman could muster only a 54th placed finish at Fanling and saw his lead at the top of the Race to Dubai standings wiped out as Rory McIlroy ended as runner-up for the second year running.

The result means that the Northern Irish youngster now sits nearly £115,000 ahead of Westwood at the top of the money-list going into this week's finale, the Dubai World Championship.

However, Westwood knows victory in Dubai would still see him finish as European number time one, although the 2000 Order of Merit champion knows he must finish in the top seven to have any chance.

The 36-year-old now concedes he would probably have been better served to have sat out last week's event to focus on the forthcoming showpiece in Dubai.

"In hindsight I think it probably was a mistake," he said of the decision to play in Hong Kong.

"I obviously didn't know the course because I had never been there, but looking back it definitely didn't suit me.

"It was predominantly a hooker's course, with a lot of shots off the tee where it suited somebody that drew it and hit a hard draw, which is not my shot.

"I've worked a lot this year on 60-100 yards out, but it's still not as sharp as everybody else and there were a lot of those shots last week.

"There were only two par fives and no rough, which generally doesn't suit my game. I like harder course where there's a bigger premium on tee-to-green stuff.

"You occasionally get weeks where things are not in your favour and I had a busy week off the course too. I was a bit lethargic really throughout."

Unfazed

However, he remains optimistic he can contend in Dubai, insisting his poor showing in Hong Kong will not faze him.

"After 16 years out here and a few up and downs I've sort of managed to be able to block average weeks out and move on on a Monday morning," he continued.

His 2000 Order of Merit triumph has also fired his belief he can overtake McIlroy to take the money-list crown as back then he overhauled great friend Darren Clarke in the final week by finishing second to in the American Express world championship at Valderrama.

"I think I was more than 128,000 (actually it was only £62,000) behind going into the last event," he explained. "So I've done it before and I can do it again."