Tuna-sandwich incentive: Westwood ties Open record with back-nine 29

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Standing on the 10th tee box Saturday at The Open, Helen Westwood mentioned something to her husband about a potential reduction in tuna sandwiches. Half-rations, to be specific. Evidently, that’s the punishment for shooting a 4-over 40 on the front nine of The Open Championship.

Helen caddies for her husband Lee, and the 52-year-old Englishman got the message. Loud and clear. “Nothing gets me going like a tuna sandwich,” he said.

Yes, that was tongue-in-cheek.

Maybe.

We’re not sure.

But it worked.

Westwood, the Majesticks GC co-captain, responded with a record-tying performance, shooting a 6-under 29 on his final nine holes at Royal Portrush on Saturday. Only one other player in the 153 years of The Open has ever shot 29 – and it just happened to be at the same course, Royal Portrush, in 2019 when New Zealander Ryan Fox did it.

It was an incredible tale-of-two-nines performance for Westwood, making his first Open start in three years. 40 on the front, 29 on the back, 69 total and now 5 under for the tournament and tied for 14th.

“It was a good back nine, wasn’t it?” Westwood said.

No, it wasn’t.

It was a great back nine.

It was the stuff-of-legends back nine.

Consider:

• 10th hole (par 4) – Knocks approach shot from 124 yards to 6 feet, 10 inches. Birdie
• 11th hole (par 4) – Knocks approach shot from 168 yards to 13 feet, 9 inches. Birdie
• 12th hole (par 5). Hits 331-yard drive. Gets up and down from 90 yards. Birdie
• 14th hole (par 4). Knocks approach shot from 154 yards to 2 feet, 4 inches. Tap-in birdie.
• 15th hole (par 3). Knocks tee shot to 23 feet, 7 inches. Birdie.
• 17th hole (par 4). Hits 349-yard drive. Up-and-down from 57 yards. Birdie

Oh, and it could’ve been a 28, which would’ve been a record. Westwood had a 15-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole that just missed. “It was a mystery, that one,” he said.

Still … 29. Tying a record in a tournament that’s playing its 153rd edition.

Westwood had no clue.

“I just kept writing down a lot of threes on my scorecard and I was like, this is going well,” Westwood said. “I didn’t even know what I needed coming down the last. .. Didn’t even know I’d shot 29 until I sat down in the scorer’s tent and it was up there.”

But he certainly knew what he shot going out. Four bogeys in his first eight holes. It wasn’t pretty.

“I was looking around the golf course and I was like, Oh my god, where am I going to make a couple of birdies to get this back to half decent,” he said. “Then I just started making good swings.”

The lesson?

“Just shows you’ve got to be patient and never give up, right?,” Westwood answered. “Stick at it.”