DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:MILD-MANNERED and polite, Luke Donald could not start a fight in a boxing ring but the Englishman has only gone and done it now. Most talented golfer in the world – Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy? "Rory," said the world's number one golfer.
“I know Tiger is very, very close and obviously I think Tiger’s work ethic has always been tremendous, and his mindset as well. But in terms of talent? I think Rory has more talent.”
Donald has played against both on many occasions so he should know what he is talking about, not that his opinion invalidates all others. Plenty will disagree, including, one suspects, a certain Mr T Woods of Jupiter Island, Florida. In other words, let the debate begin.
But not before the small matter of the Dubai World Championship, and with it the season-long Race to Dubai, two contests in which Donald has more than a passing interest.
He was happy to pay homage to McIlroy’s gifts but the munificence ended there. Nor will it be much in evidence over the next four days as the two golfers, ranked first and second in the Race to Dubai, sort out who will end 2011 as Europe’s leading money winner – a contest that remains alive only because of the Irishman’s outrageous victory in Hong Kong on Sunday, where he holed a bunker shot on the final hole to win.
Anything other than a victory for McIlroy and Donald would have been crowned the king of European golf – the Dubai World Championship, for all its hefty prize fund and grandiose title, would have been nothing more than a victory lap.
“A bit of me thinks it would have been nice to be sitting on the beach right now with a cocktail in my hand and not worrying about things too much,” the Englishman conceded.
“But there is nothing easy in life. You have to earn success and I fully expected Rory to play well (in Hong Kong) and put pressure on me.
“I am not surprised at the year he has had. He has probably not won as much as he thought he would but he has got plenty of time for that. I see him winning lots of tournaments and lots of majors.”
This was a fair and gracious assessment of McIlroy’s talents in general and his effort at the weekend in particular. But there is exerting pressure, and then there is exerting serious pressure.
For all McIlroy’s brilliance at the weekend, the Englishman still holds a €796,000 advantage heading into the final counting event, leaving the Ulster man needing to win on Sunday to give himself a chance of winning the order of merit.
Even then, he would require Donald to finish outside the top nine places. Everything is possible, but recent experience suggest Halley’s Comet comes round more often than the world number one has an off-week on the links. Yet there is at least a suspicion around he might be vulnerable for reasons that have been beyond his control.
Donald has endured an emotional few weeks away from the course, with the death of his father Colin and the birth of his second daughter coming within four days of each other. It has been a sad time and a reaffirming time for the normally reticent golfer, who spoke movingly yesterday about his personal journey over the past few weeks.
“There was a wide range of emotions, especially with my dad’s passing coming just a few days before my daughter was born,” he said. “I think the birth did spread a little grace on the situation. It wasn’t easy but I think I was able to concentrate my efforts on a new life and my kids and family.
“I lost a good friend in dad, who was someone who I think brought me up in the proper way. He was never really concerned about my golf because he was more concerned with bringing me up as a decent person with good morals and to treat people like I would want to be treated myself.”
Donald will tee off alongside McIlroy in today’s opening round at the Earth Course on the Jumeirah Golf Estates, aiming to become the first player to win the money list on both sides of the Atlantic, albeit that Woods would have achieved it a number of times had he ever taken up membership of the European Tour.
It would be yet another landmark in what has been a career-best year for the Englishman, who has won four times on his way to the top of the world rankings – much to the chagrin of those who believe a player should secure a major to lay justifiable claim to being the game’s leading performer.
If there has been any hint of failure about Donald’s year it has been that he did not really contend in the majors, although he did finish fourth at the Masters.
The player has heard the case against himself countless times.
“If people want to complain about me not winning a major then that’s fine. But when you say being world number one means you have to win a major . . . I don’t understand that. The world rankings are a statistic-based ranking and always have been,” he said.
“It doesn’t necessarily get under my skin. It usually motivates me to work harder and prove people wrong.”
He will have to wait until next year and the Masters at Augusta before he will get the chance to do that. In the meantime, he will put the cynics and the critics to the back of his mind this week and think about his father.
“When someone leaves you, you are always reminded of them in certain ways,” he said. “And I am sure he will be with me here. Yeah, it would be nice to win this one for him.”
The Lowdown
Course:Earth Course, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, UAE
Prize money: €5.536 million (€1.107m to the winner)
Length: 7,675 yards Par: 72 Field: 58
Course records– 72 holes: 265 Lee Westwood (2009) 18 holes: 64 Lee Westwood (2009), Ross Fisher (2010)
Where to watch: Live on Sky Sports from 8am today
Time difference: Dubai is four hours ahead of Ireland
Weather forecast: Dubai is set fair, with clear, sunny skies expected all week and only light breezes
Type of player suited to challenge: In the first two stagings of this championship, there have been five powerhouses in the top seven places at the end of the week (Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Alex Noren, Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott in 2009, and Robert Karlsson, Alvaro Quiros, Westwood, Mcllroy and Paul Casey last year). Any immature track without much tree protection is going to be vulnerable to attack by big-hitters, and although there are plenty of bunkers to catch players out and the rough is more penal this year, the Earth Course still looks a layout where bombers will thrive.
Selected tee-times: (Gbr and Irl unless stated) 7.30am L Oosthuizen (Rsa), G McDowell 7.40am A Noren (Swe), MA Jimenez (Spa) 7.50am D Clarke, S Dyson 8am T Bjorn (Den), S Garcia (Spa) 8.10am A Hansen (Den), L Westwood 8.20am C Schwartzel (Rsa), M Kaymer (Ger) 8.30am R McIlroy, L Donald.
Guardian Service
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