In Praise Of The PLAYERS: Westwood Coming Back To America

I have a 15 hour flight ahead but it's going to go so much faster and more peacefully secure in the knowledge that Lee Westwood will be rejoining the PGA Tour in 2012, and the reasoning just warms the heart. Jason Sobel reports:

“I missed The Players Championship last year when watching it on television,” Westwood said via statement. “It was always a scheduling issue for me. Though the rules changed making it exempt from PGA Tour restrictions, I had already set my schedule for later in the year in Asia. I didn’t want to break any of those commitments.

“It’s a great event and one I’ve always enjoyed playing. It just felt right in Ryder Cup year to commit to a full program in the United States. The FedEx Cup looked pretty good on TV this year. I thought it would be great to give it a go, having never taken part.”

Flashback to April 2010 and Lee wasn't quite so high on The Players, as Steve Elling reported...

"I think The Players probably used to be regarded as the fifth major, and it felt that way back in the late '90s. But since the invention of the World Golf Championships, I think it's actually stepped back from that.

"They have to go in now [on the list of import events] before The Players Championship. So what is it, eighth on the list now? "