Luke Donald: Can Former Number One Regain Form?
By Tim Letcher
Luke Donald was once the top player in the world. Is there any chance he could return to anywhere near that form?
Luke Donald was once on top of the golf world. The Northwestern alum found himself atop the Official World Golf Rankings for 56 weeks, spanning parts of 2011 and 2012.
Donald rose to the top of the world rankings, using his consistent play on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour to claim that top spot. Donald was named the PGA Tour Player of the Year in 2011, a year in which he led both tours’ money lists. He would finish in third place in the FedEx Cup playoffs, coming up just short of a huge payday and another significant accomplishment.
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The next season, Donald was strong once again, as he fought with Rory McIlroy for the world’s number one ranking before finally giving way to his Ryder Cup teammate. However, Donald was able to win his fourth PGA Tour title, coming at the Transitions Championship. He would finish ninth in the FedEx Cup standings in 2012.
Little did Donald, or the golfing world, know that Donald would still be looking for his next PGA Tour victory. In fact, he still seeks that victory nearly halfway through 2020.
Donald’s slide began innocently enough, as he finished 28th in the FedEx Cup standings in 2013. The following year, he was 89th, then 80th, then 58th in 2016. In 2017, he fell to 105th. That was about the same time Donald knew he had a back injury that needed attention.
He played only nine events in 2018, making three cuts before shutting his body down in April. Last season, he came back by making six cuts in 12 events, finishing 191st in the FedEx Cup standings.
This season, Donald has made five starts and has made the cut four times. Two of his four made cuts have come in his last two events. In February, Donald tied for 55th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and in his last start, Donald notched his best finish of the season, a tie for 11th at the Honda Classic.
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Donald is just 42 years old, so his window of opportunity has not yet closed. However, if he’s to make any sort of run to get back into the FedEx Cup playoffs or even back into the OWGR top 100 (he’s currently 369), he needs to make that happen very soon.