Can you remember what you were doing on Sunday, September 30, 2012?

Like millions around the world, you were probably on the edge of your seat, nibbling your fingers and gazing at the telly in wonderment as Europe's golfers conjured up the Miracle of Medinah during a rip-roaring finale to the 39th Ryder Cup.

"I get people coming up to me saying that they have never picked up a golf club in their life but the last day of the last Ryder Cup was the most enthralling day of sport they had witnessed," said Lee Westwood, as his mind drifted back to that rousing revival in Chicago when the rampant Europeans rallied from 10-6 down to plunder a 14½ -13½ triumph. "They couldn't get off the couch. They had stuff to do but they were just captivated by the whole thing."

The Ryder Cup tends to have that hypnotic effect. As the 40th staging of this titanic transatlantic tussle draws to a close at Gleneagles in seven days' time, there probably won't be many Sunday chores getting done around the house.

Westwood's career has almost been defined by this biennial battle. This week's affair on Scottish soil will be his ninth Ryder Cup appearance. He has been on six winning teams, more than any other European player, and his haul of 21 points down the seasons is just four shy of the all-time record held by Nick Faldo. "I've been happy more than I've been miserable at Ryder Cups," he said before swiftly adding that he is not one for poring over the record books. "I think you'd know more than me," he said with a smile.

Westwood has prospered in this fraught environment and the Englishman is hoping that the Ryder Cup can have a galvanising effect on his career. He has been down this road to redemption before, of course.

Following the postponement of the 2001 match due to the September 11 terrorist attacks, the decision was made to keep the same 12 players for the re-scheduled contest the next year. By then, Westwood was muddling on in the margins. He had slithered out of the top 100 on the world rankings and had slipped from No 1 in Europe in 2000 to 75th.

The barnstorming bout at The Belfry, when Sam Torrance's Europeans surged to a 15½-12½ victory, injected Westwood with renewed vigour and optimism at a time when he was doubting his abilities. In an alliance with the effervescent Spaniard Sergio Garcia, this profitable partnership would help the cause by chalking up three points from a possible four in the foursomes and fourballs.

"First and foremost, it was nice to play well and not let anybody down because I had not been playing particularly well going into that Ryder Cup," said Westwood, whose new lease of golfing life would eventually take him to the top of the world rankings. "But it also triggered something in my head that made me realise I was still a good player and I could still do it under pressure. Sergio helped me a lot in 2002, he was the perfect partner for me. So I guess I do owe the Ryder Cup something for helping to restore my belief."

That belief has been tested again in the current campaign. It has been far from a vintage year and, as the peak season rolled in, Westwood even admitted that he had lost his spark for golf. That was hardly a ringing endorsement of his Ryder Cup candidature but glimpses of little shoots of recovery, which came with an impressive final round in the WGC Bridgestone and a sparkling opening effort in the PGA Championship, were enough to convince Paul McGinley, the European captain, that he was worthy of a wild card ahead of his compatriot Luke Donald.

"In 2002, the Ryder Cup gave my career a kick start; this could be the same," said Westwood, who also drew comparisons with the rejuvenation of Martin Kaymer, the German who was toiling until the 2012 Ryder Cup but holed the winning putt and went on to win The Players Championship and the US Open. "Anytime you play well under pressure, and next week will be the most intense pressure you will ever experience, it makes a difference."

On the furious front line of the Ryder Cup, Westwood has often been held up as a leader of men, both on and off the course, but in the one for all and all for one environment of team golf, the Worksop man believes every member can play an inspiring role, even in defeat.

"I think there are leaders in the team room, people who chirp up more in team meetings, but I'm not sure there are leaders on the course," he said. "Even when games are being lost on the course, if someone wins a couple of holes and goes from three down to one down that can spur people on to come back in their game.

"I think it was Peter Hanson in front of me against Jason Dufner at Medinah and Peter was five down or something and he got it back to two down. You think 'oh Pete's on a comeback now' and it lifts you, even though he was losing his match. That's what you try to impress on everybody. If you are losing, keep sticking in. Strange things happen. Most of the time we are very self centred and only worried about our own performance but you share experiences at the Ryder Cup and help other guys along more than you would maybe do otherwise."

In just a few days, Westwood and the rest of his European companions will all be in it together again.