Lee Westwood stalls at US Open after comparing himself to a Rolls Royce

LEE WESTWOOD stalled in the US Open just 24 hours after comparing himself with a Rolls Royce.

The ex-world no1 gave himself a great chance of finally ending his majors hoodoo by taking the lead at -5 after four good opening but he ended the round -1.

On Friday, after an impressive day following annoying rain delays that frustrated other players, Westwood was in a jovial mood.

When asked how he played so well in stop-start conditions, he said: “I Rolls Royce-it a lot of the time now. I’ll go and play golf when I’m at home on a Saturday morning or a Sunday morning.

“I don’t hit any balls to warm up. So now when we’re not hitting balls, I don’t stiffen up or anything like that. Being the finely tuned athlete I am, you wouldn’t expect that, would you?”

However he was left looking more like a Fiat Panda as he tanked it around the mid-holes and left him clinging on in his 73^rd attempt at claiming one of the game’s top prizes.

The Yorkshireman started the third day at Oakmont three under, poised behind Dustin Johnson and Andrew Landry at the top of the leaderboard.

And the former world No1 went -4 after the first with a birdie to start the thankfully dry day.

The Worksop man took the lead on the fourth with another birdie and hit the fairway for the fifth consecutive hole on the fifth before ending on par.

But five bogies between the sixth and eleventh left his latest quest for his debut major in major need of repair.

His mid-card nightmare improved with two pars and a birdie between holes 15 and 17.

And he finished the day on a high with a quality drive onto the green on the final hole and a smooth putt to end the round one under.