Lee Westwood put up a great fight for the 2008 Order of Merit finishing in third position falling short of the number one spot claimed by Sweden's Robert Karlsson and Ireland's Padraig Harrington finishing in second. Lee finished in a tie for fourth spot on four under par in the Volvo Masters at Valderrama in what were probably the worst weather conditions on the European Tour this year. Players were subjected to high winds and driving rain which caused play to be suspended on both the Friday and Saturday of the event which was won by Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen on a score of eight under par.
Although Westwood has not crossed the winning line this year he has been the model of consistency and his finish this week puts him 9th in the World Rankings. . "It's been a year of nearlys and it was nearly again. I didn't feel I was hitting it great all week. I wasn't straight enough, but I've played well all year and I'm pleased about being back in the top ten." said Westwood.
Lee is now taking a break and having his tonsils removed this week, after suffering continual bouts of Tonsillitis over the past few years.
Darren Clarke finished in a tie for 11th at the Volvo Masters and claimed 13th position in the Order of Merit. After winning in China and Holland this year Clarke will now be looking forward to the Majors next year as the top 15 in the rankings qualify for the Open Championship, US Open and USPGA. Joining him will be Jeev Milkha Singh who finished in 12th position.
Finishing in the top twenty were James Kingston, winner of the South African Airways Open and Richard Finch who won in both New Zealand and Ireland.
