At 46, Englishman Lee Westwood claimed his 25th European victory by winning in Abu Dhabi. He is ahead of the Frenchman Victor Perez who is starting his season as he finished last year, fully in charge ...

European Tour: Lee Westwood, 25th ... Motor!

Lee Westwood - © European Tour

Even though, traditionally, the season is considered to start in April on Augusta's side, it is difficult to ignore the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, a "Rolex Series" endowed with $ 7, from mid January. . And no one was wrong, starting with the American champions who made the trip to the Middle East.

Brooks Koepka, world n ° 1, and Bryson DeChambeau, however, did a little extra on the fairways of Abu Dhabi GC, contenting themselves with chambering via Tweet about the power of their abs! Childishness at the height of their services in the emirate ...

Koepka finished in the depths while DeChambeau did not pass the cut. It did not seem to bother anyone as the Englishman Lee Westwood advanced to his 25th European victory, titles gleaned over four decades now… A great proof of longevity for this 46-year-old champion, a little coated but still sending the ball to nearly 300 yards at the drive. In the last Sunday game, Lee wasted no time in taking off thanks to five birdies from 1 to 12. Only a bogey on the 16 almost gave hope to the three players who were waiting for his end of the course in the shadow of the club- house looking like a desert hawk.

The English Matthew Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood as well as the French Victor Perez who starts this season at the same pace as he finished 2019, allegro ! A final birdie for Lee Westwood on 18 and the Nottingham Forest FC supporter could raise his arms to greet the UAE audience.

His last victory was in December 2018 in South Africa, already a Rolex Series at the Nedbank Challenge. With this new success, he is only five victories away from Sir Nick Faldo's British record, but this hope will never erase the disappointment of a major record which remains untouched at the dawn of his fifties ...

If Lee's bonhomie was a pleasure to see, we have other reasons to rejoice under the tricolor banner ...

Thanks to an eagle on the 18th, Victor Perez ended his week on a card of 63, sharing 2nd place, securing his start to the season financially, taking 3rd place in Europe, progressing to 41st place in the world and collecting valuable points. for the next Ryder Cup. Good reasons to be satisfied for the Tarbais settled in Scotland.

And yet the week had started badly for Victor with three bogeys in a row on the first holes on Thursday morning. The pair he has created since last summer with JP Fitzgerald - the former caddy of Rory McIlroy - has corrected the situation and regained confidence as quickly as possible.

This Victor Perez podium cannot hide the other French performances. Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Romain Langasque share 34th place, Mathieu Pavon 55th and Victor Dubuisson 69th. For their part, Alex Levy, Raphaël Jacquelin - despite a good 1st lap - Julien Guerrier and Benjamin Hébert did not cross the cut.

They will have the opportunity to correct their position this week during the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, at the Emirates GC where Bryson DeChambeau will defend his title.

Claude GRANVEAUD-VALLAT

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To go further, read our last article on Lee Westwood

Lee Westwood saves a millionaire from drowning in Barbados!