Will Luke Donald win a major in 2012?
With the 3rd pace finish in the Dubai World Championship this weekend, world #1 ranked Luke Donald did what has never been done before. He won the PGA Tour AND European Tour money titles. First I’d like to congratulate Luke on a fantastic year and 2nd, ask him for a loan.
Anatomy Of Luke Donald’s Game
European Tour Stats:
Stroke Average: #1 at 69.12
Driving Accuracy: #1 at 75.6%
Greens In Regulation: #1 at 13.9 per round, or 77.5%
Putts Per Green In Regulation: #1 at 1.694
Sand Saves: #3 at 78.6%
One Putts: #4 at 6.84 per round
*Driving Distance: 145th at 282.8
*Threw that in for fun. It is now obvious that being the longest player on tour isn’t necessary to be the best.
PGA Tour Stats:
Top 10 Finishes: #1 (14 of 19)
Scoring Average: #1 at 68.86
Strokes Gained – Putting: #1 at .844
Sand Save Percentage: #5 at 59.09%
One Putt Percentage: #3 at 43.53%
One Putts Per Round: #3 at 7.9
Total Putting: #2
3-Putt Avoidance: #1 at 1.24%
Birdie Average: #2 at 4.24 per round
Final Round Scoring Average: #1 at 68.06
Bogey Average: #1 at 2.01 per round
I could go on, but these are enough to show that Luke really is the #1 player in the world right now, statistically. There’s no doubt.
Time For A Major Win
After winning both money titles, 4 worldwide wins (two on the PGA Tour and two on the European Tour) and being ranked #1 for quite a while, there’s some work to do. It is time for Luke to win a major championship. He is most definitely the current “best player to not have won a major championship.”
Looking at the schedule for 2012 I’m trying to see what would be a good fit for Luke’s game in the majors. The Masters can definitely be won by short hitters (Zach Johnson, Mike Weir), but bombers have the advantage there. The US OPEN is a tournament Luke’s game should really fit well. Luke is an accuracy player, hitting a lot of fairways and a lot of greens in regulation. The (British) Open Championship is being held at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Donald could have somewhat of a home field advantage there. The PGA Championship is going to be at Kiawah Island this year, rated as the toughest course in America. Accuracy once again could be quite an advantage.
It will be fun to watch Donald next season. Can he win a major in 2012?
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
