Luke Donald - The Next Big Thing?

Much has been talked about Luke Donald’s potential. After a brilliant amateur career he turned professional in 2001 and quickly adapted to life on tour. Even though Donald chose to play on the US PGA Tour, English golf fans soon identified Donald as one of their great hopes. He has subsequently coped well with this expectation, although as yet he has not taken the golf world by storm. However, there is every reason to suspect that Donald is on the verge of greatness. And here’s why.

In March 2006, Luke Donald won the Honda Classic and it was a long overdue victory. Over the previous 12 months he had made the cut in every tournament he played, he had eleven top 10 finishes to his name and he had only been outside the top 25 five times.

Prior to the Honda Classic win, Donald had not won a US PGA Tour title since he took the Southern Farm Bureau Classic back in 2002. In between these US PGA Tour titles, he had won twice on the European Tour and won the Target World Challenge at the end of 2004, but somehow the Honda Classic victory seemed to signify a lot more. Donald plays predominantly on the US PGA Tour and that is where the competition is invariably at its toughest. To win the Honda Classic was to prove that he really can compete at the highest level, and win.

The nature of his victory in the Honda Classic was also important. He maintained his final round lead under pressure and even finished with a birdie on the last hole, a testament to his growing mental strength. It seems clear that the Honda Classic win will act as a massive boost to Donald’s confidence.

Victory in the Honda Classic took Donald to 10th in the official world rankings. However, Pro Golf Form, who produce rankings based on fully adjusted scoring averages (see www.progolfform.com), already have Donald ranked 4th in the world, and only just behind Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. The Pro Golf Form ratings provide a better indication of how a golfer performs week-in week-out and highlight those golfers who perform consistently well. And the Pro Golf Form ratings make one thing absolutely clear – Luke Donald is an incredibly talented and consistent golfer.

The consistency showed by Donald since the start of 2005 is quite remarkable. He has missed just one halfway cut and only recorded two performances rated above 70.00 by Pro Golf Form. Such consistency is indicative of a measured and controlled golfer who has superb course management skills. Add to this the fact that the 2005 season was the first in which Donald competed in all four majors and you can begin to see that there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Donald's game is characterised by steady play from tee to green. His game is all about course management, placing the ball in the right spot and playing the percentages. It’s an approach that should ensure he is regularly in contention. Couple this with growing mental confidence and he can be expected to win many more titles over the coming years, including major championships. Donald’s game is best suited to the US Open championship and this probably represents his best chance of major glory, although don’t rule him out in the other majors.

In short, Luke Donald is a massive talent, and with growing confidence he is sure to become a major player in the golf world over the coming years. Of course, much of Donald’s success will be dependent on the form of Tiger Woods, but of all the young pretenders out there, Luke Donald has arguably the greatest chance of asking the most questions of Woods. Luke Donald is going to be big.

Chris Mills works for Pro Golf Form (http://www.progolfform.com) and is an expert analyst of the US PGA and European Tour.

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