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When Betfair heard Lee Westwood didn't have a caddy for the Barclays Scottish Open we dashed to Loch Lomond to offer our services - only to find that Padraig Harrington's former bagman Dave McNeilly had got there first. It wasn't a wasted journey, though, as Lee sat down for a chat with us about his prospects for The Open...

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Hi Lee. First of all hard luck in Paris at the French Open. Are you a 'glass half full' or 'glass half empty' sort of person after a near miss like that?
Definitely a glass half full as far as I was concerned. I had a great time and finished up with some very good stats for the week - third in driving accuracy, fourth in distance and I hit 84 per cent of greens in regulation. I came away feeling quite satisfied although slightly disappointed I couldn't cap it all with a win. There wasn't anything to beat myself up over, however.

So what did you take from the event as you headed off to Loch Lomond and then Turnberry?
I can take the knowledge that my game is in good shape, and if the putter works as well at Loch Lomond and Turnberry as it did over the weekend in Paris then I can contend in both. I really am in a good place regarding my game at the moment, and what a good time of year to have that feeling.

You're without your normal caddie Billy Foster here because he's on a charity walk. Tell us about what he's doing?
Billy had this idea of helping children's and breast cancer charities before he started caddying for me, and I was more than happy to let him have a week off to do the walk from Loch Lomond to Turnberry. He is hoping to raise £50,000 for the Darren Clarke Foundation in aid of breast cancer, and the Candlelighters Children's Cancer Trust. I hope he makes a lot of money for two very needy causes.

Will it be a slight handicap for you that he's not at Loch Lomond? How important is the relationship between a golfer and his caddie?
No offence to your offer but I'm lucky that I was able to call on the services of a very experienced caddie to replace Billy for the week, because it is a vital relationship. You have to spend nine hours a day in their company, and when you are under most pressure you rely on them. You have to have a very trusting relationship and I'm lucky to have had some very good ones over the years.

We read that you went teetotal after Christmas as part of a plan to lose weight and get fitter. Is that still going on and what difference does it make to your golf?
Teetotal? Moi? There was some truth to it, but I've never been a particularly heavy drinker so having less wasn't exactly a chore. I'm not sure what difference it's made to my golf, but I've never felt fitter or better. But that's more to do with my fitness regime which I'm very serious about, and have been for some time.

You've also done a lot of work on your swing this year. How has that helped?
I've gone back to coach Pete Cowen, who I've been with on and off for many years, and I'm starting to get back the consistency which has normally been a hallmark of my game.

How difficult is it for a top professional player to make adjustments to a swing that's already so good? Isn't there a temptation to think that if it's not broke, don't fix it?
It's not so much making adjustments as eradicating any old faults that creep back into the mechanics. Pete has a very practised eye and he's able to make a little tweak here and there to keep everything in order.

On the subject of learning, tell us about your golf Academies. Is that project going well?
Yes, thanks, in fact I've been very encouraged by the response to my academies. I'll be visiting all of them after The Open and helping here and there. The idea is to help young players learn every aspect of the game and it's clearly popular. We are totally subscribed and nearly 500 kids will be taking part all over the country.

Tiger was winning on Sunday. Is that ominous news for the rest of the players ahead of The Open?
Tiger winning? Nothing new in that and I'm sure he'll be a force at Turnberry. But there will be plenty of others in with a good chance and I just hope I'm among them. Nothing would please me more than to win The Open.

Tell us about Turnberry. What are the best and worst parts of the course?
That's an easy one. The worst bit is trying to hit the 9th fairway, and the best bit is the rest of the course. It's a fantastic test and if the wind blows then it will certainly bare its teeth. It's going to be a great week.

Well good luck for it, and we've a £50 free bet in aid of a charity of your choice to say thank you for your time.
Brilliant, I'd like £25 on myself to win The Open and another £25 for a top five finish. At the current price of [40.0] to win and [7.0] the top five it will give me an even greater incentive because the winnings can go to the Sheffield Children's Hospital who do an absolutely amazing job and are one of the charities I've supported quite often.