Donald feels the time is now right

PHILIP REIDhears why Luke Donald believes this event is where he will find deliverance for his year's work

LUKE DONALD doesn’t do sympathy. But, then, how can you feel sorry for a player who has accumulated some €2.7 million on the US Tour this season? And who, in one brief summer stint back in Europe, amassed the guts of €700,000 to top up his bank balance in a run that took in the BMW PGA, the Madrid Masters and the Wales Open where he went second-first-third. No, he’s doing just fine in the financial world.

And, yet, there’s the impression he doesn’t quite get over the line often enough. He’s tougher than his boyish looks would have you believe – you don’t survive on tour otherwise – but, despite his win in Madrid, his tale of near-misses on the US Tour, where he hasn’t won in over four years, follows him as a constant reminder of what might have been.

This season has witnessed one close call after another, most recently in last Sunday’s final round of the Tour Championship at East Lake where he finished runner-up to Jim Furyk, a shot adrift. It was Donald’s third runner-up finish of the season and his second in the FedEx Cup series, having started that particular end-of-season campaign with a second-place finish in the Deutsche Bank championship.

Of his close call in the Tour Championship – where Furyk claimed the $1.35 million (€997,000) winner’s cheque and a $10 million (€7.4m) bonus for topping the FedEx Cup – Donald said, “the disappointment wasn’t to do with the money, that’s not my money to start with. Anything I earn is a bonus. It was disappointing I didn’t have the chance to pick up the trophy and win the tournament. I’ve come close (in the US) a few times this year. That’s more disappointing, the fact I haven’t got into the winner’s circle. The money is really very secondary.”

Would he like to go head-to-head with Furyk in the singles? A chance, perhaps, to get some revenge? “Again, I wasn’t playing with Jim in the last round. It’s a different scenario. To be honest, the main goal this week is for the team to get 14½ points, whoever I play, and it doesn’t really matter (otherwise). Jim will be a tough opponent if I get paired with him. He’s a consistent player, and I think we have similar games. But as long as the team gets 14½ points, that’s all that matters to me.”

So, Donald – one of captain Colin Montgomerie’s wild-card picks – has pitched up at the Celtic Manor resort as the eighth-ranked golfer in the world and as Europe’s in-form campaigner but perhaps believing team golf in the form of the Ryder Cup is where he will find the ultimate deliverance for his year’s work.

“My form has been good the last few weeks. I feel like three out of the four play-off events, I had a chance to win. It’s nice to be in contention, to give yourself chances to win. My game feels pretty solid and, hopefully, I can bring that form to this week.”

Donald, who missed the defeat at Valhalla as he recovered from surgery, has thrived in past Ryder Cups: at the K Club in 2006, he took three points out of three and at Oakland Hills in 2004, he took 2½ points out of four. Now, he’s back – and taking on board what he calls “the good vibes” in the team room. “We’ve a very relaxed atmosphere so far, just trying to find our feet and try to start that team-bonding process. You know, trying to maybe chat to guys you haven’t chatted to so much before and find out a bit more about them,” he said.

For yesterday’s opening session of practice, Donald – as was widely expected – teamed up with Pádraig Harrington and played a small money match against Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher to heighten the level of intensity. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if Monty were to throw the Irishman and the Englishman into the cauldron together come Friday.

Indeed, Montgomerie has compared Donald to the Bernhard Langer of old. How did he feel about that? “Bernhard Langer is someone who really thought his way around the golf course. I think he worked diligently on his game, got the most out of his game. And, in today’s modern era, sometimes it’s a little tough on some of these courses we play for (shorter hitters) like me to succeed. I’ve done pretty well, but I’d like to win a little bit more than I have.

“Playing with Harrington today, looking at his record, he went through a patch where he had plenty of seconds for a long time and then broke through and won three majors, so you never give up. And I think that was also a characteristic of Bernhard Langer.”

And while his world ranking and recent form meant he avoided controversy over relying on a wild-card pick, Donald observed: “I don’t think anyone on the team sees me as a wild card or someone who made it automatically. We are just 12 guys trying to win the Ryder Cup.”

Luke Donald

Age: 32

Born: Hemel Hempstead, England

World ranking: 8

Majors: 0.

Caps: 2 (2004-06). Points: 5.5½ Record: P7 W5 H1 L1 (Foursomes P4 W4; Fourballs P1

H1; Singles P2 W1 L1)