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Westwood declares himself fit for Ryder Cup

09/09/2008

European Ryder Cup star Lee Westwood has confirmed he will be fit for the showpiece event after recovering from tonsillitis.

The 35-year-old was forced to pull out of the Omega European Masters last week and will not take part at the Mercedes Benz Championship in Cologne. But Westwood revealed he was ready to play in Germany but was unable to get an invite to the tournament.

"I'm fine thank you, recovering well," said Westwood. "(The reports) are slightly wide of the mark, I think someone's just trying to fill up column inches."

There are concerns that Westwood will not be in top form to play in the Ryder Cup as he will go in having not played competitive golf for two weeks. But the Englishman refuted those claims and felt he would be in the right shape to perform.

"It's only two weeks between finishing there (Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles) and the Ryder Cup. I picked it up there on the Saturday and it affected me for the last day but my sharpness should be pretty good," said Westwood.

"I had a couple of weeks off before the US Open and I didn't do too bad there, I was pretty sharp, so I've no worries about being sharp for next week."

European captain Nick Faldo will be hoping Westwood is able to play at his highest level as he has been Europe's joint top-scorer alongside Sergio Garcia at the last two tournaments. He has played in five Ryder Cups and won 15½ points.