By Julian Linden
SAN FRANCISCO, June 12 (Reuters) – Luke Donald is the top
ranked player in the world and raking in a fortune. Last year,
he finished at the head of the money lists in Europe and the
United States, an unprecedented feat in the cut-throat world of
professional golf.
He has won tournaments on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean
this year, yet for all his success the Briton remains dogged by
one glaring omission from his CV, a major championship title.
In the lead-up to this week’s U.S. Open, Donald has almost
gone unnoticed. When Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy held their
pre-tournament news conferences on Tuesday, it was standing room
only in the interview room.
When Donald came in, only a dozen or so reporters were there
to quiz him on his preparations.
“It doesn’t really, whether I’m ranked number one or ranked
number 10 or 20 or 100, it doesn’t change the way I prepare or
the way I practice,” he said.
“The focus for me is to continually try and improve and get
better in all facets of my game and that has no relevance to
where my world ranking is.
“The only other slight distraction, which is less so for me
because I kind of go under the radar, is as a number one ranked
player is that there’s more, a little bit more attention, a
little bit more expectation.”
Although he has not won a major, Donald has come close a few
times, finishing in the top five at the Masters, British Open
and PGA Championship.
The only major he has not finished in the Top 10, is the
U.S. Open, which is traditionally set up to be the hardest to
play.
“U.S. Opens are tough. It challenges every part of your game
from the first tee shot to when you walk off 18,” he said.
“I think out of all the Major Championships, this is the
toughest test in a way. Most of the time par is a good score and
it’s a grind out there.”
Donald has not finished higher than 45th at the U.S. Open
since he tied for 12th in 2006, but despite his poor record, he
is confident of a good showing this year at the Olympic Club, a
tricky course which he thinks suits his game because of his
preference for shaping the ball from left to right.
“I feel that most of the tee shots out there fit reasonably
well with my eye. I feel more comfortable and more in control of
the ball if I’m hitting a slight fade,” he said.
“The draw, over the last past couple years has been a
tougher shot for me to hit consistently and start on the right
line.
“The fade is a little bit easier shot. I think that’s
probably the same for the majority of the players. So as this
course demands a few more of those, I feel like it suits my eye
reasonably well.”
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
