'I had to work hard to get here,' says new world No1 Lee Westwood

Lee Westwood will stand the golf world tomorrow morning, the high point of a story punctuated by disappointments, fightbacks and, for the past two years, an irresistible surge to where his talents had always pointed him. Yet, while the biggest achievement of his career was being fashioned on the Spanish coast today, Westwood says he was "bumbling around Sainsbury's" in Worksop, shopping for "some rubber gloves and mashed potato". Graeme McDowell's win in the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama ensured Westwood – recovering from an injured right ankle and calf – would hold at bay his nearest rival for the No1 ranking, the German Martin Kaymer, as well as displacing Tiger Woods, the incumbent for more than five years. Northern Ireland's McDowell won by two strokes to enter the top 10 for the first time, alongside five other Europeans and four Americans. Golf's pendulum has swung decidedly to the east. Kaymer, who finished 10 shots off the lead, texted Westwood to congratulate him as soon as he came off the course. "That was nice of him," Westwood said. "It meant a lot." Westwood, joined by his parents and 20 friends, watched the last few holes at his home over "a couple of bottles of champagne". Westwood said his two children – Sam, nine, and Poppy Grace, six – were unfazed. "They pretend to [understand] but they're a bit young for that. They're more interested in things on TV. My dad knows how frustrating it was when I dropped out of the top of the world rankings down to 266 – and he knows how hard I've worked to get back." The acknowledgment among his peers that will count most will be that of the man he unseated when they meet in the WSG-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai this week. "I have a great relationship with Tiger," he said. "I respect what he's done in his career and I think he respects me. I give him a little bit of stick and he gives me a little bit of stick back. I think that's what he likes about our relationship."