Tag Archives: Luke Donald

Donald Changes Coach To Compete In Majors

Luke Donald has not had the best of times recently on the golf course especially in the majors. It wasn’t that long ago he was he was totally in control of his game and topped the money list on both side of the Atlantic but that is now a distant memory.

All of this has brought a change in his approach and he has decided to seek out the services of American coach Chuck Cook to try and get his long game back into shape.

Cook has coached players such as Payne Stewart and Tom Kite and has recent major success with Jason Dufner.

He will still be going to his long time coach Pat Goss for advice on his short game but feels he needs a different approach and point of view on his long game.

Donald also believes that he needs a change in philosophy if he is going to claim one of the four majors next year.

Rose Win To Boost English Players Performance At Majors

It’s been a 43 year wait but finally England can be proud once again and finally be able to celebrate a US Open win by the great Justin Rose.

In a week that saw many different players top the leaderboard at some point we all knew that the winning score was going to be around the level par mark and that it would be a player who showed the most patience and accepted that sometimes a bogey was a good score on hole if they were going to win.

English players have been knocking on the door for some time now since Nick Faldo was the last Englishman to win a major at the 1996 Masters when he overcame a seven shot deficit to beat Greg Norman in the final round.

We’ve had Colin Montgomerie fall at the last hurdle on a couple of occasions, we’ve seen Luke Donald, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood come so close but not quite able to finish the job off, but hopefully now Rose has won a major it will inspire others to do so and make them believe that they can.

It wasn’t long ago when Padraig Harrington won his first major and a second shortly followed which then we saw the likes of Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy do the same.

Lets just hope that this is start of something big for English golf.

Donald Up To Sixth In The World

As we head into this weeks US Open which is to be held at Merion Golf Club, Luke Donald finds himself moving up to sixth place in the world rankings.

The top five remain unchanged as Brandt  Snedeker drops to seventh and the winner of the PGA Championship Matteo Mannassero moves up to 25th place.  Also moves upwards for Thomas Bjorn and Harris English. 

I wonder who is going to do the business this week? Will it be a walk in the park for Tiger, will McIlroy find some form and tear the field apart like he did back in 2011 or will we see a new major winner come from the pack? Who knows?

I can’t wait to find out!

 

Donald Chasing The Dollar In Malaysian Open

This week’s European Tour event heads to Malaysia for the Maybank Malaysian Open which will see Luke Donald as the star attraction in a star studded field. This will be the first time Donald has played in this event which sees an increased prize fund this year up to $2.75million. Umm I wonder what attracted him this time?

Donald had a good finish last week at the Tampa Bay Championship where he eventually finished fourth and this week in Kuala Lumpur will be looking to claim his eight win on the European Tour.

Donald has yet to claim a European Tour victory since the BMW Championship last summer and will be desperate to put that right this week.

 

 

Rory McIlroy Finishes Top Of The Pops For 2012

Well  the golfing year has ended and it’s Rory McIlroy who tops the Official World Golf Ranking, with Ryder Cup team-mate Luke Donald finishing second.

McIlroy has ended up finishing 251 points clear of Donald with a grand total of  596.99 points. It’s ended up being a decent season for Luke Donald especially after such a great 2011 season. It was a tough start to the season this time round but he finished strongly and should be very satisfied with what he’s done.

McIlroy, who finished third last year, has enjoyed a superb 2012 by winning the USPGA Championship and the Ryder Cup in a season full of drama and a lot of great golf.  McIlroy did have a slight lull in the middle of the season and questions were asked of him but he came back stronger than ever to claim numerous titles.

Tiger Woods managed to finish third behind McIlroy and Donald which was a great improvement on his 23rd place finish last year.

I really can’t wait to see how next season pans out with so many great players in good form and to see if McIlroy can keep doing what he’s been doing or weather Tiger will be back to his absolute best. I think Tiger has played some terrific golf this season but just hasn’t managed to get the putter going. If he can, then 2013 could be a whole different story.

 

Donald Leads McIlroy By One In Dubai

It was former number one Luke Donald who was back to his best today shooting a superb 65 to take the lead of the DP World Tour Championship, but he’s got the company of current number one Rory McIlroy sitting just one shot back following a fantastic 66.

Donald set the early place and showed that last weeks win at the Dunlop Pheonix in Japan was a sign that he is back to his best and competing with the likes of McIlroy again.

McIlroy didn’t have the best of starts but came to life on the back nine, with five birdies in seven holes putting him right back into contention where he loves to be.

The Northern Irishmen finished the day on six under par alongside Scotland’s Marc Warren  and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain.

All of the big names are  near the top of the leaderboard waiting to pounce tomorrow and hopefully set up a terrific weekend for us to sit back and enjoy.

Big Guns Heading To HSBC

Four of the top players in the world have confirmed they will take part in the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions from November 1-4. World Number Three Luke Donald, World Number Four Lee Westwood, defending champion Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson have all said yes to the sponsors. The event will take place on the Olazábal Course at Mission Hills in China.

2010 US PGA Champion Martin Kaymer  who won the event last year by three shots in dramatic style by making nine birdies on the final day is looking forward to defending the title.

England’s Luke Donald is also looking forward to his week at the WGC-HSBC Champions, having missed out last year waiting for the birth of his second daughter.

He said: “I was so disappointed to miss out on playing at the WGC-HSBC Champions last year, although it was for the best possible reason!

Plus Donald will be keen to get back to winning ways after not having the best season. But I guess compared to his heroics last season it was always going to be a disappointment!

The US PGA Championship Is Underway – Take A Look At My Betting Tips

Well the 94th US PGA Championship is underway  and it was Italy’s Matteo Manassero who started proceedings as he struck the opening tee shot from the tenth tee at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

The 19 year old who is the youngest man in the 156-strong field this week took his three wood out the bag, managed to calm his nerves, and hit the left hand side of the fairway on a glorious morning in South Carolina.

With already a touch of humidity in the air there were still forecasts of electrical storms for the afternoon, but with no sign of inclement weather first thing. Let’s hope they manage to get in the full days play today.

A lot of the top players are yet to go off, Luke Donald is currently at one under par after two holes but with still a long way to go. Make sure you catch all the action on Sky Sports tonight!

As you know, I like to have a flutter on the major championships so here are my picks for this week. Just to remind you, I picked the winner of the US OpenWebb Simpson back in June!

Ian Poulter

Steve Stricker

Luke Donald

Bo Van Pelt

Stewart Cink

My Picks For The Open Championship

The 141st Open Championship got under way at 6.19am this morning with Barry Lane hitting the first tee-shot at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

The weather was calm but the scoring was still tough with bogeys being made everywhere, and poor American James Driscoll reaching the turn at  ten over par and England’s Robert Rock double bogeyed the first and third holes to reach four over after six.

But there have been good starts from Scot Paul Lawrie who is currently leading at three under par and Lee Westwood second at two under par after birdies at the first two holes.. There is lots of golf still to come today as play will still be going at 7pm tonight. I for one will be watching most of it!

If you’re thinking of having a flutter this week and want some advice on picking a winner then here are my picks for this week.

Tiger Woods

Stewart Cink

Matteo Manassero 

Ian Poulter

Matt Kucher

Good luck and enjoy the golf! Click here for the live leaderboard

 

Francesco Molinari Sets Castle Stuart On Fire

The Sottish  Open began this morning in fairly calm but fresh conditions in Inverness. There were a lot of scores under par but one player was making it look easy. That player was Francesco Molinari, the Italian continued his magnificent form to set the clubhouse target at ten under par during the first round at Castle Stuart.

Molinari made ten birdies in a bogey-free round and flawless round of golf. He had an amazing run making nine birdies in eleven holes and never looked like missing a putt at one stage.

Luke Donald who is defending the title this week began with a five under par 67, the World Number One did get to seven under himself with five to play – that after six birdies in seven holes – but he bogeyed two of the last four.

Molinari is on course to retain his Ryder Cup spot after last weekend, and leads by three from Soren Kjeldsen and by four from Robert Coles.

Will the wind get up tomorrow and bring the field closer together? Will Molinari’s form continue? Make sure you tune in to find out!