GOLF:LUKE DONALD has added the European Tour Golfer of the Year title to all his other achievements this season. First player ever to top the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic in the same season – and the current world number one – Donald was earlier this week voted the PGA Tour Player of the Year.
His latest award from a panel of writers and broadcasters came despite Rory McIlroy becoming the youngest US Open champion since 1923, Darren Clarke the oldest Open champion since 1967 and Charl Schwartzel winning the Masters.
“To have the accolade of European Tour Golfer of the Year means an awful lot to me and I will look back on this year with a lot of fond memories,” he said. “It is always nice to be appreciated, especially from the people in the sport who know the game inside out . . . Rory’s win at Congressional was amazing, as was Darren’s success in the Open, while Charl birdieing the final four holes to win the Masters was a truly magical moment in golf. Therefore, to be given the vote ahead of these great players who also had great years is very special indeed.”
Donald won the Race to Dubai despite playing six fewer events than runner-up McIlroy and topped the US PGA Tour Money List despite playing seven fewer events than second-placed Webb Simpson.
Ian Poulter, meanwhile, made good on his goal to upstage Donald at the Australian Masters, shooting a sparkling six-under-par 65 to take a one-shot lead after the first round yesterday.
Both players soaked up the morning sunshine in sublime conditions at Melbourne’s Victoria Golf Club, but it was the smartly-dressed Poulter turning the most heads as he notched seven birdies to edge early pace-setter Ashley Hall of Australia.
World number one Donald rolled in only two birdies and struggled to build momentum in his first professional tournament Down Under, but displayed enough of his trademark control to finish with a blemish-free 69, four strokes behind.
Resplendent in a pair of tartan trousers and a matching violet sweater, Poulter delighted in the short sandbelt course that places a premium on tactics and smart iron-play. “It’s always nice to go out and play well after playing a golf course you have never seen before until the day before,” said the flamboyant 35-year-old. “I missed a couple of greens in the wrong spots, but managed to make a couple of great up-and-downs.”
Poulter, on a mission to lift his 28th ranking at the end of an inconsistent year, three putted for his lone bogey on the par-four 11th, his second hole, but clicked into gear with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-four 15th. That sparked a run of five birdies in six holes, highlighted by a sublime bunker shot on the par-four first that cleared another sand-trap before settling within two feet of the pin.
Donald, seeking tips from the Melbourne sandbelt courses for his own golf architecture ambitions, struggled on the greens and rued his failure to make hay while the sun shone.
Hall, a burly 28-year-old with two minor tournament wins in the local tour to his credit, briefly threatened with a 29 on his first nine holes, but stumbled with a bogey and a double-bogey in his last five. Holder Stuart Appleby shrugged off a twinge in his lower back to card a one-under 70, while former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy was a further shot adrift after a scratchy 71. Italian teenager Matteo Manassero struggled to a 76.
