Tearful Bryson DeChambeau thanks Tiger Woods after beating Lee Westwood by one shot to Arnold Palmer Invitational title
LEE WESTWOOD saw his dreams of glory dashed as the Arnold Palmer Invitational went right down to the wire.
Bryson DeChambeau kept his cool to win the £1.2million top prize at the Bay Hill Golf Club and Lodge, winning by ONE SHOT.
And after his triumph, a tearful DeChambeau revealed he had received a text from Tiger Woods wishing him luck for the final day.
Woods is still recovering from surgery after being involved in a horror car crash that leaves him fighting for his career.
DeChambeau said: “It’s been quite a battle. I don’t even know what to say, to win at Mr Palmer’s event, it’s going to make me cry.
“It means the world to me. I got a text from Tiger [Woods] this morning and he obviously had done really well here. We talked about just keep fighting no matter what happens and play boldly like Mr Palmer said.
“My heart has been heavy with Tiger and what’s been going on with him, I just kept telling myself it’s not how many times you get kicked down it’s about how many times you get picked back up and keep going, and that’s what I did out there today.”
The American finished 11-under, with Westwood back in second with 10-under.
Corey Connors finished off an impressive showing at one of the PGA Tour’s biggest tournaments in third on -8.
Westwood will pocket £730,000 for his performances over the week.
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The 47-year-old Brit was supported throughout the tournament by his partner and caddy Helen Storey.
Westwood gave her his bag during the Made In Denmark competition in September 2018 after handing usual caddie Billy Foster a week off – and responded with one of his best performances of the year.
Since then, Storey, who is a fitness instructor from Newcastle, has been a regular on the links alongside her man.
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Meanwhile DeChambeau has gone through an extraordinary body transformation in recent times.
He packed on an extra 20kg of muscle in 2020 to help him generate more power off the tee.
The American was eating a whopping 6,000 calories a day to gain the weight.
To many that would seem drastic, but his decision was clearly justified as he adds the Arnold Palmer to his US Open success in September.
