Westwood sees red over state of the Gleneagles greens

Lee Westwood’s grandfather must be turning in his grave. ‘He told me long ago that if you haven’t got anything good to say, don’t say anything,’ said Westwood.

Less than a minute later the Englishman could not help himself, launching a devastating attack on the parlous state of the greens on the Centenary Course at Gleneagles.

Straight forward: Westwood keeps his eye on the ball

Not since 1996, and the infamous putting surfaces at Collingtree, has a pro been quite so damning. What makes it worse, in this instance, is that this course will play host to the 2014 Ryder Cup.

‘You can’t play a Ryder Cup on these greens,’ argued Westwood. ‘You’ve got one green, the seventh, where my kids could come up with a better design. They need to dig them up and put the right construction underneath.

‘Every year we come here and they keep patching them up, and my fear is that they will just keep patching them up until the Ryder Cup. But it is no good for anybody. It is no good for the sponsors, the tour, or Gleneagles, which is just fabulous in every other respect.’

The owners must have thought it bad enough when Darren Clarke slagged off the course last year. Now his best golfing pal has left an even bigger footprint.

There again, that would not be difficult. Speaking after his opening round 72 in the Johnnie Walker Championship, Westwood said: ‘We got on the greens this morning and the thing they cut the hole with had left imprints. That’s how soft they are.

'Yes, I know this course is between two valleys but rain is not an excuse for having bad greens, I’m afraid. I’ve had a green built at home which is like concrete and we’ve had just as much rain as they have had up here.’

Westwood, who three putted one hole from a distance he estimated as just 18 inches, said he felt particularly sorry for the six players who came here with their Ryder Cup status uncertain.

‘The players contesting Cup places are going to be feeling pressure as it is,’ said Westwood. ‘They don’t want to be standing over a three-footer not knowing if the ball is going to run straight.’

Hacking it out: Oliver Wilson takes a divot on his way to a disappointing 76

The one under most pressure is Englishman Oliver Wilson, and it showed as he subsided to a 76. If Wilson misses the halfway cut, three players could pass him and claim the last automatic spot — German Martin Kaymer by finishing 26th or better, Englishman Ross Fisher with a top three placing, and fellow countryman Nick Dougherty by claiming a top two.

Fortunately for Wilson, Kaymer could do no better than a similar three-over-par round. Dougherty matched the regulation figure of 73 while Fisher, three-over-par early in his round, did well to recover and post a 72.

It still leaves them much to do if they are to overhaul Wilson. Frenchman Gregory Havret, who won the Scottish Open not far from here at Loch Lomond last year, showed his liking for the Highlands once more with a round of 68 for a two-shot lead over a group that included Englishman Paul Broadhurst and Scot Gary Orr.

In addition to Fisher, three other Ryder Cup hopefuls were content. The chance of Justin Rose dropping out of the automatic spots are now negligible, not only because of the efforts of others but his own 73.

Then there was Clarke, last week’s winner of the Dutch Open. His intense dislike of this course did not show as he carded a 72 to remain in the box seat for one of Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo’s two wild cards. Meanwhile, Dane Soren Hansen, ninth in the standings, showed no sign of relinquishing that position as he opened with a 71.

Hansen was playing with Colin Montgomerie, the tournament host. There have been times during the Scot’s illustrious career when five bogeys was a month’s ration, not a single round. He finished with a 74.

As for the greens, he did not disagree with Westwood’s assessment. He said: ‘They are not the best greens we have seen with regard to drainage, and we will look into that.’

Meanwhile, Ian Poulter has denied he has been promised a Ryder Cup spot as one of Nick Faldo’s wildcard picks.

Poulter, who relinquished any chance of making the Europe team automatically by playing in the Deutsche Bank Championship in Massachusetts, said: ‘I haven’t been given the nod. I’m disgusted anyone would think Nick Faldo would be that unprofessional to have done such a thing a week before a number of different scenarios could unfold.’