Only Colin Montgomerie has endured more "best player to never win a major" criticism than the Englishman. A tie for ninth under difficult conditions at the Honda Classic -- Westwood's best showing in four U.S. starts this year -- bodes well for his run-up to the Masters.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA | Last year, it was a Valentine's Day to remember for Ken Kennerly, the executive director of the Honda Classic. And it had nothing to do with pretty bouquet of flowers or a big box of chocolates.

For a who's who of tour pros-- Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and more-- a 30-mile stretch of Florida's southern Martin County and northern Palm Beach County is a happening place to live, practice and just plain hang.

Whether sitting behind the Nicklaus family for Christmas Eve services at Christ Fellowship, seeing Ernie Els playing with his kids at Juno Beach or awaiting a table on a January night outside the Reef Grill with Luke Donald, chances are you're going to bump into a tour player living in or around Jupiter, Fla. If you're lucky, you might even be in the Hobe Sound Deli when Tiger Woods is grabbing a sandwich on his way home from Medalist GC.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (Reuters) - You won't catch Englishman Lee Westwood slipping into a Transatlantic drawl just yet but the 39-year-old from Nottinghamshire is already starting to feel at home in his new base in Florida.

"The quality of life and the ease of life. Nothing is a problem really and playing on this tour, you are spoilt really," Westwood told reporters after his even-par 70 left him two shots off the Honda Classic lead heading into Sunday's final round