Lee Westwood equalled the European Ryder Cup record for different playing partners during the Saturday fourballs at Hazeltine National.
Westwood, making his 10th consecutive appearance this week, tied Bernhard Langer’s record of 12 different Ryder Cup partners when Darren Clarke paired him with Danny Willett in Minnesota.
Which European has the veteran had the most success with? We look back at other players to partner Westwood in Ryder Cups…
Nick Faldo: 1997 (W2,L2)
Westwood made his debut for the European Ryder Cup side as a raw 24-year-old partnering seasoned veteran Faldo – and 19 years later the Englishman is just two points away from matching his compatriot’s record as the highest scoring player in Ryder Cup history.
Under captain Seve Ballesteros, Westwood and Faldo lost a tense morning fourballs to Brad Faxon and Fred Couples on the 18th, but the Worksop youngster soon had his first point on the board in the afternoon foursomes, winning 3&2 against Jeff Maggert and Justin Leonard
The English duo beat rookie Tiger Woods and his partner Mark O’Meara 2&1 to extend Europe’s lead to four points, but they stumbled during their fourth and final match, gifting the American’s their only full point during the second day foursomes.
Darren Clarke: 1999, 2004, 2006 (W6,L2)
Westwood’s most successful Ryder Cup partner, the two close friends have played together a record eight times and in their last two outings the pair were undefeated.
During the Battle of Brookline in 1999, it was the same story as for two years previously for Westwood as he started and finished with a defeat either side of two confident wins alongside the Northern Irishman.
Their partnership gained momentum in 2004 as they kicked off Europe’s Ryder Cup defence by fending off Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, and their 5&4 won over Bill Haas and Chris Dimarco 5&4 remains Westwood’s biggest margin of victory in Ryder Cup foursomes.
The pair carried on this form with two wins out of at the K Club in 2006, which marked Clarke’s last time playing in the event while Westwood would never achieve as much success with one partner.
Sergio Garcia: 2002, 2004, 2008 (W4, L1, H2)
Westwood found another formidable partner in Garcia, with their only loss coming in 2002 against Tiger Woods and Davis Love III after three straight wins at the Belfry.
They were unbeaten in two matches together in Detroit two years later, earning one win and one half, but they have not been paired together since they halved the opening foursomes match against Kenny Perry and Jim Furyk in 2008 – a year in which neither managed a win for Faldo.
Other Ryder Cup partners (W5, L5, H4)
Westwood has managed to rack up nine other partners during his 10 appearances with much less success. In those 14 matches between 2006 and 2016, he partnered experienced European Tour stalwarts Colin Montgomerie (2006) and Soren Hansen (2008) without success, although he won a morning fourballs with Martin Kaymer in 2010 and a Saturday foursomes with Luke Donald.
Westwood partnered Nicolas Colsearts (win) and Francesco Molinari(loss) in 2012, and he formed a strong bond with rookie Jamie Donaldson at Gleneagles two years ago, the pair winning two of their three matches together.
Westwood shouldered the blame for a heavy opening foursomes defeat alongside Thomas Pieters on day one at Hazeltine, and he also lost with Willett a day later after missing a two-foot putt on the last.
[Source:- Skysports]