Donald craves Major success

SWAP? LUKE Donald, the world number one, heads into the third leg of the US Tour’s FedEx Cup series as this year’s dominant player and with a chance to top the money lists on both the USPGA Tour and the European Tour but admitting he wouldn’t mind trading places with Rory McIlroy who has already picked up his first Major title.

“Where I am in my career, I’d like to win a Major championship because that’s a big deal these days,” said Donald in an interview with pgatour.com in the run-up to this week’s BMW Championship in Chicago, adding: “Since Tiger started chasing Jack’s record, Majors again have been associated with being a great player.

“Most people’s careers are compared with how many Majors they win. I’d love to win a Major. But saying that, being number one is pretty special because there have only been 14 or 15 different guys to be number one and there have been a lot more Major winners than that. There are different ways to look at it, but ultimately, winning Majors is very important,” said Donald, who has bypassed this week’s Vivendi Seve Trophy in Paris in his bid to win the FedEx Cup series.

Whilst McIlroy has also opted not to play in Paris – in his case so he can take a two-week break off before returning to action in the Dunhill Links Championship as he sets his sights on a late-season chase of Donald on the European Tour Order of Merit culminating in Dubai – and will this week attend the Faldo Series finals in Lough Erne, Donald has labelled the Ulsterman as representing golf’s “new era”.

McIlroy, who has made no secret of his desire to one day become world number one, has moved up to third in the latest world rankings following back-to-back third-place finishes in the European Masters and the KLM Dutch Open.

Donald, who has opened up a cushion over his pursuers in the world rankings after picking up three wins on tour this season, has found a constant comparison with Woods as the biggest problem in topping the rankings. He explained: “The world rankings is a statistic. You can’t argue against it. It is what it is. Other than Rory, I think I’ve earned double the points than just about anyone (this season). I’ve been consistent.

“What I got sucked into is that everyone associates (the) number one player in the world with Tiger Woods and what he did. As much as I believe there is no limit to what I can achieve, I understand it is unlikely at my age I’m ever going to achieve what Tiger’s achieved. I think it is a little unfair (that) they see number one and think number one should win this many Majors or this many tournaments when it’s just a statistic.”

Donald also observed that golf – with Woods’s demise – had entered what he called “a new era,” adding; “There are a lot of young guys coming up, Rory McIlroy and Keegan Bradley and a bunch of others . . .  I am not sure we’ll see someone who dominated like Tiger, but maybe a bunch of people.”

McIlroy’s upward movement to world number three on the back of those top-three finishes in Switzerland and the Netherlands since returning to competition following the wrist injury sustained in the USPGA Championship last month have provided better affirmation than any words of the 22-year-old Co Down man’s well-being, and his return to action at the Dunhill Links will provide a launch pad for a hectic end-of-season that will run up to late December.

The Dunhill Links in a little over a fortnight’s  time will also mark Pádraig Harrington’s return to action, following the Dubliner’s demanding schedule which saw him play six successive weeks in a bid to keep progressing in the FedEx Cup. “I didn’t feel bad physically,” said Harrington of that six-week odyssey, although admitting he could “see tell-tale signs of fatigue (in Boston) . . . I struggled with my reading of the greens and my all-round decision making was poor. That is why I sit down and carefully plan out my schedule so as not to get myself into (such) a situation.”

Harrington, down at 78th in the latest world rankings, is entitled to a well-earned rest before resuming a late season itinerary that has yet to be confirmed but will see him play substantially in Asia after the Dunhill in his efforts to make it into the Race to Dubai. “I am feeling good about the rest of my season,” he said.

Meanwhile, Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin has replaced Alvaro Quiros on the continental Europe side for this week’s Vivendi Seve Trophy against Britain and Ireland after the big-hitting Spaniard withdrew due to a wrist injury. “He wanted to play and to be able to honour the memory of Seve (Ballesteros). However, his wrist injury hadn’t healed sufficiently for him to compete,” said European captain Jean van de Velde in confirming Jacquelin’s promotion to the team.

Paul McGinley, who hopes the Seve Trophy will act as a stepping stone to one day getting the Ryder Cup captaincy, is in charge of the Britain and Ireland team.

Darren Clarke is the lone Irish player on the team, after McIlroy and Graeme McDowell passed up the opportunity to play.