Westwood Plays Leading Role in Inspiring World Stars of the Future

Lee Westwood may have come up short in his quest to win a Major at the Open Championship but the Englishman is playing a full part in inspiring the game’s stars of the future after hosting juniors from the Emerging World Youth Golf Tour at Muirfield.

Westwood, who led going into the final round at Muirfield before finishing joint-third behind Phil Mickelson, took time out from his Open practice preparations to spend time with the talented youngsters from the innovative programme. As well as posing for pictures, the former world number one spent an hour answering questions and passing on vital tips and advice to the children, who had travelled to the Home of Golf, St Andrews, for an 10-day training camp and came from as far afield as the United Arab Emirates, Zambia, Bulgaria, Austria, Italy and Spain.

Westwood said: “I never went to watch any professional tournaments when I was a kid. The first tournament I went to I played in so these juniors have a big advantage over me. They got to go and see how the pros do it, see how a big tournament is run, what goes into it and gauge the atmosphere from there. With this experience, they’ve really got something to look forward to and aim towards in the future.”

Michelle Smith, a director of the Emerging World Youth Golf Tour, said: “We were delighted when Chubby Chandler agreed the meeting with the juniors and Lee Westwood. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that they will never forget and was the undisputed highlight of the trip for many.

“Lee gave the juniors a lot of his valuable time before such an important event and it really meant a lot to us.
“He actively listened to and answered every single question, and there were lots of them, and advised the juniors individually on how to achieve their own aims in golf. He couldn’t have done any more to make us welcome.”

The 18 youngsters, aged between nine and 18, were at Muirfield to watch the world’s best players prepare for The Open after spending a week in St Andrews benefiting from expert coaching, playing the historic town’s renowned courses and learning more about the origins and traditions of the game.

Being staged for the second time, the Emerging World Youth Golf Tour’s programme aims to educate, inspire and provide junior golfers with exposure to some of the world’s most renowned coaches and playing professionals. Last year, Ladies European Tour player Melissa Reid, met the juniors providing clinics and advice as well as attending the prize-giving in St Andrews.

The plan for the camp’s schedule of events was supervised by former European Tour chief executive Ken Schofield and PGA master professional Alan Walker, and received backing from the European Ryder Cup Trust Fund this year in a bid to increase participation from European junior golfers.

The 10-day programme focused on the history and traditions; rules and etiquette; and technical and mental aspects of the game; with elite attendees receiving tuition from Simon Holmes, former coach to six-time Major winner Sir Nick Faldo, advice on the mental side of the game from Dr Richard Cox and a Rules presentation from David Bird.

All juniors received tuition from the St Andrews Links Trust’s expert team of PGA professionals and, in addition, they tackled several of the Links Trust’s renowned courses, were treated to a tour of the R & A clubhouse – for both boys and girls – and visited the British Golf Museum, as well as playing and staying at the five-star Fairmont St Andrews resort or the St Leonards boarding school.

The Emerging World Youth Tour is a community interest company, meaning it is a not-for-profit organisation and works towards the good of the communities in which it operates.

Other supporters of this year’s programme included the Emirates Golf Federation, the Zambian Junior Golf Association and the Bulgarian Golf Association while corporate partners and suppliers included Highland Spring, Ralph Lauren Polo Golf and Bushnell.

For more information on the Emerging World Youth Golf Tour please visit www.emergingworld-media.org/programmes