Golf: Westwood to miss Lomond

TWO WEEKS after Graeme McDowell's amazing US Open victory, Lee Westwood is hoping that a change of approach can help make him a major champion as well at St Andrews in a fortnight.

For the first time since 2000, Westwood is not playing next week's Scottish Open and so the French Open starting tomorrow at Le Golf National near Paris is the world number three's last Tour event before The Open.

The change of plan was decided last week following Westwood's 16th-place finish at Pebble Beach, a week after winning in Memphis for his first title in America since 1998. "I like being competitive before a major championship because it's a confidence booster," he said.