Did Lee Westwood Pass Up A 2023 Ryder Cup Captaincy For The Saudi Golf League?

The 48-year-old's decision to WD from consideration may be a sign he's bracing for huge-but-controversial payday.

Future Ryder Cup venues sign at Whistling Straits (Geoff Shackelford)

I didn’t think too much about James Corrigan’s Telegraph exclusive announcing Lee Westwood’s withdrawal from 2023 Ryder Cup consideration. Usually such pronouncements suggest someone else is getting the gig and it’s a face-saving move.

But that’s not Westwood’s style.

I initially bought his claim about playing in the 2023 Ryder Cup as a legit goal. The World No. 38 still has game, as exhibited in the early portion of 2021 when he finished second in back-to-back weeks (Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship) before fading because of a (too) busy schedule. A singles win over Harris English at this year’s Ryder Cup undoubtedly buoyed his hopes of remaining one of Europe’s best. Plus he’s newly remarried and obviously enjoying having Helen or son Sam on the bag.

“Of course it is not a decision I’ve taken lightly as it would be a huge honor to captain Europe and it is something I’d love to do one day,” he told Corrigan. “But it’s almost a full-time job nowadays and that is something I can’t commit to while I’m in the top 50 and still competitive.” 

Corrigan said a 2023 captaincy was a “certainty” until last week’s WD and noted that Westwood’s top 50 status put him in the category of Ballesteros and Langer, who took the job with similar rankings before fading by the time Ryder Cup week arrived. The job is a full-time one and not for someone still able to play at the highest level, as Westwood noted.

But the Daily Mail’s Derek Lawrenson blew a hole in Westwood’s claims, offering circumstantial evidence and reasonable speculation about the best-player-without-a-major anticipating another possibility. Lawrenson writes: