Lee Westwood will make his 56th attempt to win a major next week and for the fourth year running is warming up at the Shell Houston Open.

There is a difference this time, though. He did not stop at Augusta en route to Texas.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are among those who like to start their Masters preparations early, but Westwood has changed his mind on that.

"I didn't think it was that necessary," the 38-year-old world No.3 said.

"It's a nice place to go and soak up the atmosphere with nobody there and get some work done, but the course isn't really reflective of how it's going to be on Thursday morning next week.

"It changes so much in three days. I just decided not to this year and thought the extra couple of days at home would do me more good."

Runner-up to Mickelson at Augusta two years ago, Westwood has not only seen Ryder Cup team-mates Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke all win majors since then, but also two more stablemates in Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.

He has had six top-three finishes in the past four seasons and added: "I think it proves I'm capable of winning major championships.

"It makes me look forward to major championships a lot more than I used to. I feel like my game is better equipped to tackle major championship golf courses.

"You really should go into it treating it like just another tournament. We have plenty of them and major championships are no different.

"Some of the tests are a little bit more severe – next week's greens will be faster than most we putt on all year – but I feel like I've got a good enough game to cope with those things."

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