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Lee
Westwood on Wednesday tersely dealt with suggestions his number one
ranking was a hollow accolade because he has so far failed to win one
of golf’s four majors.

The 37-year-old,
who ended Tiger Woods’s 281-week reign as world number one on Monday,
has seen his elevation come under fire from some quarters.

Woods’s former
coach Butch Harmon was one who criticised Westwood’s rise to number one
saying the ranking system “sucked.” “Did Westwood win a major this
year, or any year? I think not,” he said.

The last Englishman
to top the rankings, six-times major winner Nick Faldo, said on Sunday
that Westwood needed to cement his new status with a major trophy.

Westwood’s response
on Wednesday was terse. “I would agree with him. I don’t need Nick to
tell me that. That’s fairly obvious,” was his curt response to
reporters in Shanghai.

“I’ve had quite a
good career so far. But a major has been missing and I have performed
well in them over the last couple of years,” he added.

“I’ve given myself
a lot of chances and I haven’t managed to finish it off. You look at
the stats and the previous world number ones and they have all won
major championships. It would be nice to join that club as well,” said
Westwood.

“All I can do is keep putting myself in position and giving myself
chances at winning, which I have done over the last couple of years,”
he added.