Westwood jumps to the top of order of merit

Lee Westwood says golf rates fourth on his list of priorities on a scale of one to five. Heaven help his rivals if he ever decides to take it seriously.

Yesterday the man preoccupied of late with moving to a country mansion near Worksop returned to the top of the European order of merit, nonchalantly fashioning a 66 for an 18-underpar 266 and a four-stroke victory in the Belgian Open at Royal Zoute.

Westwood's second Belgacom victory in three years and career-best fifth Tour victory of the year netted him £102,000 sterling and hoisted him £42,600 ahead of Darren Clarke at the top of the money list and shot him to the top of the Ryder Cup qualifying table.

Westwood, who needs one more win to match the European record of six in a season of Seve Ballesteros (1986), Nick Faldo (1992) and Colin Montgomerie (1999) has now banked £1,400,547 official prize money - a Tour record.

"I won seven in a season in 1998 but not all in Europe. It would be nice to be up there with Seve because they don't come any better than him," Westwood said.

With almost as much prize money on offer in Spain in the final fortnight of the summer in the Volvo Masters and WGC American Express event, he could conceivably set a total that will not be matched in his lifetime.

If he wins again in this week's German Masters in Cologne, it would put him almost £320,000 ahead of Clarke, who missed the cut at Royal Zoute after two disastrous rounds and withdrew from the German event to be with his wife for the birth of their second child.

"I haven't been playing so well in the past few weeks, but I've worked on some things and it all came together here. I felt very comfortable today," said Westwood.

"It's nice to be up there but there are still some very big tournaments to come which can change things," he said. "I'm just focusing on one round, one shot, at a time.

"With that last event so loaded anything can happen and I've just got to keep the juices flowing - if I keep hitting it like I am now I'll have a good chance. There's no magic pill. You just have to keep grinding it out."

Padraig Harrington led by a stroke overnight from the Dane Soren Hansen and Westwood.

Harrington and his wife shared a Chinese dinner with the Westwoods on Saturday but it was a far from convivial affair yesterday as Harrington let two strokes get away in the first four holes and Westwood punished him with four birdies in seven holes from the sixth.

Westwood ended four clear of Argentina's Eduardo Romero (66), while Harrington had to settle for joint third after a 71 for 271 with American Tom Gillis (69). Romero's untarnished final round was another tribute to his re-found ability to focus after taking up yoga.

Montgomerie, fifth in the money list and probably chasing a lost cause as he seeks an eighth straight European number one title, closed with a 70 to end 12 behind Westwood on 278.

Scotland's Alistair Forsyth holed a 100-yard pitch to eagle at the 17th for a 67 and 272 score, which virtually secures the rookie of the year prize, while Justin Rose edged nearer keeping his card with a 67 and six-under-par 278. Hansen faded but earned a spot in the German Masters.