BMW PGA Championship 2012: Westwood Hires Waite as Caddie

English golfer Lee Westwood hired Michael Waite to serve as a temporary caddie while his original caddie recovers from surgery on an injured right knee.

Billy Foster, Westwood's initial caddie and putting coach, recently injured his knee during a charity football event. Foster will need five to six months to fully recover from the injury.

[Foster's] an integral part of the team, Westwood said. My game and results have improved the last few years as a result of Billy being on the bag.

Westwood had used Cayce Kerr for the past two weeks to replace Foster, but has decided to use Waite for the foreseeable future. In 2005, Waite helped Michael Campbell win the U.S. Open.

Westwood is best known for stripping Tiger Woods of the No. 1 ranked spot in 2010. Currently No. 3 ranked, Westwood hopes to win his first major title with the opportunities at the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship this summer.

Next up for Westwood is this week's BMW PGA Championship, the unofficial fifth European major, at the Wentworth Club in England.

I'd like to play brilliantly this week and for everybody else to play rubbish but that's not going to happen, Westwood said. I spent around an hour and three quarters practicing my putting yesterday, just getting used to the speed of the greens.