LIV Golf stars Lee Westwood and Richard Bland are among the players in contention for the Senior PGA Championship title on Sunday, with 2009 Masters Champion Angel Cabrera tied for the leadLee Westwood is in contention for his first senior major title(Image: Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
Lee Westwood is one shot off the lead in the Senior PGA Championship, with the LIV Golf star chasing his first major championship victory.
A superb third-round 68 in testing conditions at Congressional Country Club in Maryland got the former world No. 1 within touching distance of the lead. He will start his final round one shot back from a four-strong leading pack.
Jason Caron, Phillip Archer, Retief Goosen, and disgraced 2009 Masters champion Angel Cabrera share the lead at five-under-par with 18 holes to play. Westwood holds a tie for fifth alongside 2009 Open winner Stewart Cink at four-under, with Padraig Harrington (-3), Vijay Singh (-3) and defending champion Richard Bland (-2) among the players also in with a shot of victory on Sunday.
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Glory on the major stage has eluded Westwood throughout his career, but he hopes to change that in his first Senior PGA Championship appearance.
“It’s nice to get in contention,” Westwood said after a promising moving day. “It’s nice to see your name on the leaderboard and make a move on a Saturday.
“It’s moving day, and I knew even par was there or thereabouts, and I know I’ve got one or two low rounds in me the way I’m playing. I’m hitting the ball well, hitting it a long way, and I’ve got a lot of scoring opportunities and birdie opportunities out there.
“I’m going to just continue to be aggressive and hit driver a lot and see where that takes me really. Hopefully roll a few putts in tomorrow again like I did today.”
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Angel Cabrera, who won the Regions Tradition last week, is among the leading pack at Congressional(Image: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Westwood’s status as a LIV Golf member restricts his opportunities on the senior circuit. Westwood remains banned by the PGA Tour for joining the unsanctioned breakaway league in 2022, preventing him from playing in the Regions Tradition and the Senior Players Championship.
Westwood also resigned his DP World Tour membership when joining LIV as a founding member, and that means he is ineligible to play in the Senior Open Championship. The 52-year-old also cannot play in the U.S. Senior Open next month due to it coinciding with LIV Golf Dallas next month.
Despite his limited playing opportunities, the Englishman is relishing playing on the senior circuit. “Well, I can only play those two [the Senior PGA and U.S. Senior Open], obviously, because I’m on LIV.
“Unfortunately, I can’t play the U.S. Senior this year because we’ve got an event this week, but I would love to. I really enjoyed it last year. It’s nice to come out here and see the guys that I grew up playing with and I started my career with.
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“I watch the European Tour and the PGA Tour and I don’t really know anybody anymore because they’re all 30 years younger than me. It’s nice to come out here and play with my peers that I started with.”
Defending champion Bland, who is also a LIV member, saw his hopes of retaining the title dented on Saturday with a two-over-par 73. It means Cabrera will be viewed by many as the man to beat after winning the Regions Tradition title in Alabama a week ago.
The two-time major champ made his return to professional golf last year after being jailed for more than two years on domestic violence charges in his native Argentina. The 55-year-old made a controversial return to Augusta National for The Masters last month.