Lee Westwood, winner of three European Tour events since the middle of May, took a huge step towards the top of the Volvo Order of Merit with an outstanding eight under par 63 in the opening round of the Volvo Scandinavian Masters at Kungsängen GC.
Westwood currently occupies third spot in the Volvo Order of Merit but could leapfrog both Ernie Els and Darren Clarke by claiming the €266,660 first prize. The 27-year-old from Worksop, joint third last week in Holland, made his intentions clear with two birdies and an eagle in his first five holes. A bogey at the short sixth temporarily halted his charge, but Westwood bounced back with a birdie on the ninth before finishing with four birdies in his last five holes to pull two shots clear of the field.
His nearest challenger is Japan’s Katsuyoshi Tomori, whose round included seven birdies, with local favourite Olle Karlsson and Spain’s Diego Borrego a further shot off the pace.
Since the Benson and Hedges International Open, Westwood has won the Deutsche Bank – SAP Open TPC of Europe, the Compaq European Grand Prix and the Smurfit European Open and also finished in the top five on four other occasions. He currently trails Els by €148,630 and Clarke by €132,512 in the Volvo Order of Merit.
Meanwhile the man who has dominated that title for the past seven years and this week’s defending champion, Colin Montgomerie, opened his account with a three under par 68 as he chases a third title of the year.
The world number four had been disillusioned with his putting after the Open championship but armed with a new grip and a stone lighter into the bargain, a slim-line Montgomerie found it was business as usual. The only blemish on his scorecard was a bogey six on the fifth hole that he described as "crazy", but the 37-year-old Scot was content with a solid start.
He said: "Nothing really happened but three under is okay. I putted a wee bit better and it's a decent start. The six on the fifth was disappointing because I hit a great drive and had only a three iron in but missed the green, chipped up and three putted. Crazy.”
