Westwood apologizes for Twitter rant

Published Aug. 12, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

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While newly crowned PGA Championship victor Jason Dufner has become known this season for starting the #Dufnering trend on social media, Lee Westwood seemingly stole the World Wide Web spotlight for a few hours late Sunday and early Monday.

It began with a fairly innocuous, yet clear, message from Westwood’s Twitter account to his critics at 11:44 p.m. EDT, via @WestwoodLee:

Nothing unusual there. Pro golfers, pro athletes or any celebrity sometimes see fit to defend themselves on social media. The critical posts can be cruel and vulgar all too often.

But what followed was, indeed, extraordinary. Westwood continued to take on the “trolls,” as they have long been called among Internet users, and retort while holding little back. It ended nearly three hours later with this remark: “Not been hacked. Just honest. Bored now. Westy out.”

There was also an apology via Westwood's account just before noon Monday:

Most golfers and celebrities employ the discretion-is-the-better-part-of-valor approach to posts by “trolls.” Some major media entities even discourage their public figures from engaging in such back-and-forths. Yet others are known to stand up for themselves.

Ian Poulter can occasionally be seen using a handful of tweets to turn back critics – and joined the fray with Westwood for a moment from his account:

Westwood retweeted some remarks from “trolls,” tacking on his own replies at the end of the post to which he was replying. His account’s posts even on occasion showed a self-deprecating sense of humor, or merely talked soccer. Other times, his account’s remarks simply employed the old theory that the best defense is a good offense.

• • •

Here is a sampling of tweets from Westwood’s account during a busy post-major flurry of activity. A handful of comments appear to have disappeared:

@WestwoodLee: ‘ “@D4vidElliott: @WestwoodLee don’t rise to it mate”just sick of negative a..holes sat behind a keyboard with a pitiful life mate !thats all!’

@WestwoodLee: ‘“@Louis_Evison: @WestwoodLee and you was obviously on the pints the night before your final round. You owe me £20 as well. Cheers xxx”oo £20’

@WestwoodLee: ‘Like I give a [expletive] what the haters say! That’s life ! Some people will always be just a little bit better and work just a little bit harder’

Oh yeah you've gone quite now!!!! Saddo's . what's wrong? Don't like it back you failures?
— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) August 12, 2013

@WestwoodLee: ‘Not my decent human beings followers of course. Just the [expletive] that should be locked up by the twitter police.’

@WestwoodLee: ‘Oh yeah you’re all quite now arnt you ! Come on ! Bring it on big boys! Yeah I thought not!’

@WestwoodLee: ‘Come on you girly boy trolls! I’ve only won just over 2 mill on course this year! Need you to keep me entertained a bit longer than this’

@WestwoodLee: ‘ “@20_and_counting: @WestwoodLee put the phone down Westy before it gets out of hand - ill swap my career for yours #JustSaying”nowhyshouldi!’

@WestwoodLee: ‘ “@tmckeever89: @WestwoodLee Lee what you make of monty slagging your game in commentary? Thought it was bit harsh..”who?’

@WestwoodLee: ‘ “@11_shaun: @WestwoodLee shut it Westwood. Your boring us all now #zzzzzzzzzz”haha! Look at Shaun and his perma tanned boy banned! Geltastic’

@WestwoodLee; ‘ “@normy_kidd: @WestwoodLee you deserve all the stick you get after that last round of golf!”and I tried all the way. And you’re a [expletive]!’

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