World number 1 Westwood awarded life membership of European Tour

Feb 8, 2011, 16:21 GMT

Berlin - World number one golfer Lee Westwood has been awarded a honorary life membership of the European Tour, the organization said on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old, who took over from Tiger Woods at the top of the golfing world in October, is only the second English player to be ranked number one.

Westwood was presented with a silver honorary life membership and money clip by the European Tour during the build up to this week's Dubai Desert Classic.

Since first competing on the Tour in 1994, he has won 20 times and is third in the all-time career money list behind Ernie Els and Colin Montgomerie with tournament winnings of 23,911,692 euros (32,4 million dollars).

He is the 13th player to be ranked first, since the official world golf ranking were introduced 25 years ago.

'I have always loved The European Tour, from the moment I first teed up in Madeira to this day, standing here in Dubai receiving this award.

I have had a few ups and downs in that time but I have always loved The Tour and the people surrounding it. It has played a huge part in my life and I will cherish this honour for the rest of my life,' Westwood is quoted as saying in a statement issued by the European Tour.

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