[6] Westwood and fellow countryman Luke Donald share the distinction of reaching the number one world ranking despite never winning a major.

Westwood took a significant break from the game following the birth of son Samuel Bevan in 2001, and together with a restructuring of his swing under David Leadbetter, led to him being out of contention in tournaments until his 2003 victory in Germany, his 25th worldwide.

He carried this form into the 2008 season, starting with two tied second places and a fifth, moving back into the top 20 in the world rankings.

Westwood earned a career-best second place at the 2010 Masters Tournament, leading by one shot going into the final day before being overtaken by eventual champion Phil Mickelson.

In May 2011, Westwood contested a playoff at the BMW PGA Championship with fellow Englishman and at the time world number two Luke Donald.

Westwood attempted to follow him in close to the hole but got too much backspin on his pitch and the ball spun back into the water hazard.

[17] In June 2011, Westwood equalled his best performance at the U.S. Open finishing in a tie for third place at Congressional CC, an event which was dominated by Rory McIlroy.

In February 2012, Westwood recorded his best ever performance at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship when he reached the semi-finals for the first time.

He beat Nicolas Colsaerts, Robert Karlsson, Nick Watney and Martin Laird en route before falling, 3&1, to Rory McIlroy in the semi-finals.

Westwood continued his fine run of performances in the major championships with a tied third finish at the Masters in April 2012.

He finished two strokes behind Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen and bemoaned his putting performance as the reason he did not win the tournament.

In June 2012, Westwood won the Nordea Masters for the third time, the week prior to the U.S Open, with a five stroke victory over Ross Fisher.

During the final round, Westwood lost his ball in a tree on the par-four fifth hole after his drive clattered into the pines.

The ball was declared lost and he had to play his third shot from the tee, resulting in a double-bogey six which effectively ended his challenge.

At the 2016 Masters, Westwood finished joint runner-up with Jordan Spieth, three strokes behind winner Danny Willett.

He was briefly only one stroke off the lead during the final round following an eagle on the par five 15th, but bogeyed the 16th to end his chances.

Westwood's win in Sun City, South Africa claimed his 24th European Tour victory and his first since the 2014 Malaysian Open.

[27] The Nedbank was his first Rolex Series title and third victory at Gary Player Country Club following wins in 2010 and 2011 before the tournament joined the European Tour international schedule.

[28] In July 2019, Westwood finished tied for fourth in the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

Westwood finished on 19 under par, two shots ahead of Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Victor Perez.

He applied for entry to the 2023 Senior Open Championship, to be played in late July and for which he had fulfilled several exemption categories.

However, in June he was denied entry due to outstanding fines to the European Tour, related to breaching conflicting tournament regulations.

Westwood regained the number one spot after winning the Indonesian Masters on 24 April 2011[43] and held it for 5 weeks before being replaced by Luke Donald.

[44] Westwood made his Ryder Cup debut in 1997 where he partnered fellow Englishman Nick Faldo in both sets of fourballs and foursomes.

[47] In October 2010, Westwood was a member of the European team that won the 2010 Ryder Cup with a one-point win over the USA.

[48] For the 2012 and 2014 tournaments, Westwood was once again a member of winning teams, with Europe beating USA at Medinah Country Club and Gleneagles.

[50] In 2018, Thomas Bjørn selected Westwood as one of his five vice-captains for the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National, alongside Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald, Pádraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson.

[51] In September 2021, Westwood played on the European team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.

[55] He is good friends with fellow Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke and from April 2006 he co-owned a private jet with him.

[63] PGA Tour playoff record (1–0) *Note: The 1997 Volvo Masters was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.