That last statement isn’t a knock on Westwood. Because after shooting a 63 in round one, he faced some difficulty in the next few rounds, before finally beating Robert Karlsson and Robert Garrigus in playoff today. So Westwood did what he had to do to pick up the win, and gain momentum as we head into a tournament that he’ll be one of the clear favorites in. But let us get back to Garrigus for a minute.

He had this tournament won. I mean, when you have a three-shot lead on the final hole of the tournament, you’re expected to win it. That’s not what happened today though, as Garrigus dropped a nice little triple-bogey on the 18th, and proceeded to drop out of the playoff on the first hole. So while I know that Westwood earned it throughout the four days of action and he’s the winner, people will probably remember this Garrigus gaff more than the Westwood win. Unless of course Westwood goes on to win the U.S. Open next week.

Westwood was the favorite heading into this tournament, and a he found a way to deliver. We all know about the heartaches he’s had in majors over the last few years, and maybe this win will give him the confidence and momentum that he needs going into Pebble Beach. It’s a course that he can excel at, so he’ll undoubtedly be the third favorite behind Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. In my mind, he’s THE favorite next week, as neither Tiger or Phil aren’t at their best right now, and this is the perfect setup for him to finally pick up a major championship.

It should be an exciting week for Westwood, as he’ll be looking to put the Masters’ disappointment behind him, and try to seal the deal this upcoming weekend. And after a win in Memphis, it’s clear that he’ll be bringing his best game into the tournament.

Here’s the AP story on the final round action.

Westwood has been so close so many times this year, as we’ve seen him play some great golf at times. But there has just been a few holes here and there all season that have cost him victories, and made him settle for top ten finishes.

While Westwood has said some things in the past that may have been questioned by golf fans, there is no doubt that this guy is one of the best golfers out there today. He’s the kind of guy that can step up and win a big major, as he almost did it at last year’s U.S. Open. With the enormous battle taking place between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate, people sometimes forget that Westwood was so close to winning that one.

But again, congrats to Westwood on the huge win in Dubai, and this should definitely give him some momentum heading into next season.