Westwood Cashes in After Caddie's Message in a Bottle

Here's the difference between European Tour players and America's programmed PGA Tour robots.

Englishman Lee Westwood shot a final-round, course-record, 8-under 64 Sunday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to not only claim a six-shot tournament victory in the Dubai World Championship but also overtake Rory McIlroy on the season-long money list.

The veteran won $1.25 for the tournament title and another $1.5 for the year-long bonus.

Even more satisfying for Westwood, he did it by pulling his game out of a recent slump.

If a PGA Tour player accomplishes a similar feat, the turnaround would have been credited to a swing coach, sports psychologist and fitness guru. He would have droned on about playing one shot at a time and being positive.

Westwood?

He credited a exchange while drinking with caddie Billy Foster (above, with Westwood) earlier in the week.

"The reason for the big turnaround in confidence was catching Billy at the beach party on Tuesday evening," Westwood said. "He probably just had enough Heineken, to tell me what he really thought, and me, having just enough -- I only had two mojitos, and then moved on to Diet Cokes -- to actually understand what he was telling me."

Foster's advice was to play good golf and let everything else take care of itself. No scoreboard watching. No keeping track of what others were doing or needed to do.

Westwood finished the week 23-under-par. McIlroy, a 20-year-old from Northern Ireland, who could have become the youngest European Tour money winner since Seve Ballesteros in 1976 when he was 19 with a victory, finished eight shots back in third.

"This is definitely the biggest moment of my career today," Westwood said. "Rory is only 20 -- I can't even remember what it was like to be 20 -- and he will have many more chances ahead of him to win the money list.

"But this is my moment."

Villegas' Second Job

It sounded like a good idea at the time when Camilo Villegas made the decision to play fulltime this year on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour.

Now, looking back, he's still not sure.

"It's been interesting," Villegas said in Dubai "I mean, the good thing, not having a family, not having kids that you have to leave at home, I mean, that definitely makes it a lot easier. I don't understand how some guys that have kids are traveling around the entire world. I guess this is what we do for a living, but it's definitely harder than people think."

Villegas played 21 events on the PGA Tour, making 18 cuts and finishing 45th on the money list with more than $1.8 million. But a season after winning twice, including the Tour Championship, to raise expectations, the Colombian managed only four top-10s and a third at the Buick Invitational as he best performance.

On the European Tour he played 13 events, had a best-finish of fifth in the Volvo World Match Play, and finished 30th on the money list with more than $1 million.

"It's not like I've played too many events," Villegas insisted. "But I was in Colombia, and then I took a plane overnight to Spain; I took a Spain overnight from Spain to China; I took a plane overnight from China to New Zealand; I took a plane overnight from New Zealand to Dubai; and I'm taking one overnight back home. If you think about it, that's one month, five nights spent on a plane.

So it's definitely something I still need to get used to it."

PGA Tour Vets Missing

The Dec. 2-7 final-stage field for PGA Tour qualifying at Bear Lakes in West Palm Beach, Fla., is set and some well-known names won't even get the chance to save their job next year.

Eliminated in the second stage were the likes of Joe Durant, Dean Wilson, Frank Lickliter, Erik Compton, Ty Tryon, Robert Gamez and David Gossett.

Norman: Cut Prize Money

Greg Norman won 20 PGA Tour titles, including two British Opens, but the Shark arguably is a better businessman than golfer.

Norman's business holdings include wine, a clothing line, beef and sod. So when he offers an opinion on the financial condition of golf it's worth listening.

Norman suggests golf should start tightening its belt and it should start with prize money.

"I made that comment a year ago," Norman said last week. " I think the players, when everybody was taking cuts in their employment, cuts in salary, to make golf look good and responsible to what's happening with the rest of the world, maybe they should be.

"I've gone through the cycle of being really good and now I'm in a cycle, a different aspect in my world of golf, but in business, going through that cycle, you have to be aware of it. And I think the younger generation don't see it because they have never been through it before. I've been through three recessions.

"We have all had to tighten our belts a little bit, and I think it's responsible for the players to be very cognizant of that, as well."