Lee Westwood has the dubious distinction of being the man with the best view of two of the greatest golf tournaments of the last few years. He was the last man out of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 before Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate staged their epic battle, and he similarly just missed out on the landmark Stewart Cink-Tom Watson playoff at Turnberry for this year's British Open.

Stuff like that has gotta weigh on a man.

So it's good news that Westwood finally has his first win in two years by taking the Portugal Masters this past weekend. Since his previous win, the British Masters, he's notched 26 top-10s, including those two majors. The win puts him back in the top 5 in the world rankings, and also nudges him past Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai rankings.

Westwood has always had the game to break through and challenge for the top spot in golf, but bad choices -- like coming in too aggressively on the 18th of those majors, and playing himself out of a playoff spot -- have hindered him, as has his rep as a whiner, gained after his complaints at the 2008 Ryder Cup. Here, though, is a chance for Westwood to wipe the past clean -- and charge into 2010 riding as high as anyone in the game.

Westwood gets first victory in two years [PGA.com]