(Reuters) – Lee Westwood said he has plenty of golf left in him but that his singles victory on Sunday may have been his final Ryder Cup match after Europe were thrashed 19-9 by the United States at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
The 48-year-old Englishman, with his son Sam on the bag, moved ahead of Nick Faldo with his European record 47th Ryder Cup match when he beat Harris English 1UP.
Westwood has been tipped as a future Team Europe captain and while that prospect appealed to him he did not know how things would play out for the next Ryder Cup in Rome in 2023.
“I’ve played in a load of Ryder Cups and been a vice captain for Thomas (Bjorn) in Paris and it’s something I’d love to do,” said Westwood, who made his Ryder Cup debut in 1997 and is now tied with American Phil Mickelson for the most matches overall.
“I’m going to have to sit down over the next few months and weigh everything. I still feel like I’ve got a lot of golf in me.
“It might be the last match I’ve played in the Ryder Cup. I’d rather it wasn’t, but I’m 49 next April, and the likelihood is it is. I got to share it with my son. Won my point.”
Westwood has won the Ryder Cup seven times with Europe and while he was disappointed not to add to that tally in his 11th appearance at the biennial competition he was philosophical in defeat.
“You like to win, but I guess when we’re grey — I’m already grey — when we’re all in our twilight years, we’ll sit down and we may cherish more the friends we’ve made in the Ryder Cup than the results,” Westwood said.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
