Lee Westwood

The 49-year-old Westwood, who will make his second event appearance in the AT&T Byron Nelson (T-21 in 2021) this week, was notified on Tuesday of the Tour’s decision, which stated in part, “As a membership organization, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the PGA Tour and it’s players.” Speaking last week in an on-camera interview with Sky Sports at the British Masters, Westwood explained why he applied for the waiver: “It’s an opportunity to play in a big tournament against some of the best players in the world in England. I love playing in England in front of the home fans. Any time there are opportunities like that, I feel like I should take it.” The world No. 64 missed the cut last week at The Belfry, but he finished T-14 in his last appearance stateside at the Masters. He’s made four cuts in seven Tour starts this season, and he’s 4-for-5 in DP World Tour action.

Set for his 21st appearance in the Masters Tournament, the seasoned Englishman was unable to repeat his Florida Swing of 2021. With only one top-20 finish worldwide in 2022, Westwood will lean on his course history as he has collected a pair of runners-up over the last decade and a half coming in 2010 and 2016. Looking to bounce back from a rare missed cut in last year’s Masters, Westwood spoke to the changes to the 15th hole on Monday. The 48-year-old said, “It certainly makes you think now. Even if you hit a good drive, it's not an immediate yes, I'm going to go for it. I hit a good drive down there yesterday, it was a little bit into the breeze and I had 267 flag. That's a normal 3-wood for me, and the firmness that the greens are at, I'm landing on that green and it's tough to stop it. It's going to go through 15, 20 yards long, and it's a tough shot from back there. It's really a juggling act and an evaluation of whether it's easier to hit a 100-yard pitch shot into a green that's sloping slightly against you than it is a 20-yard through the back with it running away from you towards the water. It certainly makes you think.” 

Last year at TPC Sawgrass, the 48-year-old Westwood held a two-stroke lead heading into Sunday but finished second after shooting 72 in the final round, one stroke behind winner Justin Thomas. It marked his eighth runner-up finish on the PGA Tour. Of note, there were just six bogey-free rounds on the week at Sawgrass, and Westwood had two of them (Rounds 2-3).The Englishman also was T-4 in 2010 at The Players, T-5 in 1998, T-6 in 1999 and 2014, and T-8 in 2013. On the season, Westwood had made three PGA Tour starts, missing one cut (Houston Open) and most recently finishing T-68 last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In three international starts in 2022, he's 2-for-2 in DP World Tour action (T-20, Abu Dhabi; T-32, Dubai) and was T-21 in the Asian Tour’s Saudi International.

Last year at Bay Hill, the 48-year-old Englishman carded a 1-over 73 on Sunday to finish one stroke back of winner Bryson DeChambeau. He was T-5 in 2006 for his only other top 10 at the API. Westwood made his first PGA Tour start of the calendar year last week at the Honda Classic, where he finished T-42. He made two starts on the DP World Tour to kick off 2022, finishing T-32 at the Dubai Desert Classic and T-20 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He also was T-21 at the Asian Tour’s Saudi Invitational.