Lee Westwood: Elite Golfer, Discussion Groupie

Thanks to reader Peter D for Rob Hodgetts' BBC story on Lee Westwood hanging out at the 606 discussion group and creatively proving his identity when fellow groupies didn't believe it was him:

Westwood says he has been on 606 for a while but decided to reveal his true identity last month.

"I've been on here for a couple of years. Just thought I'd go public and give you a bit of an insight to the pro game," he posted.

Chatting directly to the public is nothing new, of course, in these days of micro blogging site Twitter and the like, but to prove his authenticity to the 606 community Westwood has taken interactivity to new levels.

A user calling himself leewestwood1 appeared on the golf pages in October but last week his claim to be the European Tour rankings leader and six-time Ryder Cup player was tested for the first time.

To prove he was real, leewestwood1 promised to wear a red shirt in the first round in China. The English number one was indeed sporting red.

A coincidence? Maybe, as some players often wear the same colour on designated days, but the hunt was in full cry.

"It gets a bit boring in China with jetlag. Thank God for 606 and a Slingbox," wrote leewestwood1 after the round.

"I'll give you the choice of white, purple, turquoise or blue tomorrow."
The posters settled on purple and sure enough, Westwood teed off in purple.