Past captain says Westwood must improve to continue Ryder Cup love affair

Paul McGinley, who led Europe to victory at Gleneagles in 2014, says current captain Darren Clarke will be desperate for the likes of Westwood and Ian Poulter to start producing on the golf course.

“Poulter and Westwood would be the kind of guys Darren will be looking to show some kind of form to justify a pick,” he said.

“They’re the guys you want in your corner, but they will need to show some form.

“Westwood’s not near that list at the moment, but all it takes is one big performance in the right week when a lot of points are available and he’ll propel himself right back into the reckoning.

“It’s still very early in the season and we’ve still got four majors to play and a huge amount of Ryder Cup points available, so there’s still a lot that can happen.”

Westwood has played in nine Ryder Cups and has been on the losing side just twice.

Inclusion in this year’s team for Hazeltine would not only put him joint second in the list of European players with the most Ryder Cup appearances, but give him a shot at Nick Faldo’s record of 25 points.

Westwood is currently two shy of Faldo’s haul.