Luke Donald is hoping to “slip under the radar” at this week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship, where victory would see him reclaim his position on top of the Official World Golf Ranking.
The Englishman has been paired with his compatriot Lee Westwood and the reigning World Number One, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, in the first two rounds of the US$8.5million event, being held at Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, Florida.
Donald spent 40 weeks as the world’s pre-eminent player, and is hoping to restrict McIlroy’s tenure to just one week.
He said: “It might be an advantage for me [to play with Lee and Rory]. They might have used up a lot of energy in their semi-final at the [WGC-Accenture] Match Play. Maybe they will focus on each other again, and I can just slip under the radar and make some birdies without them noticing. It’ll be a fun three-ball, so I’m really looking forward to it. Obviously Rory is the guy who’s playing well, but as always, you try to concentrate on your own game.”
Donald was at the playground with his two young daughters, Elle and Sophia Ann, when he learned that he had been deposed at the top of the World Ranking.
And whilst he was naturally disappointed to have fallen to World Number Two, Donald was nonetheless full of admiration for the man who had replaced him on top of the pile.
He said: “If you compare what Rory is starting to do now at a very young age, it has some similarities to what Tiger [Woods] did. Obviously their records are comparable at the same age. Rory still has a ways to go but he’s got a huge amount of talent, and now he’s starting to win more events to back it up.
“Rory right now is the most confident player out here. Every week now he’s putting himself into contention to win, and so his confidence is obviously sky high. I think the most impressive thing last week [at the Honda Classic] was his short game. I think that really won it for him on Sunday.
“He got up and down a bunch of times, and it’s the kind of thing that got me to the top of the World Ranking. So Rory really deserved to overtake me, because he’s improved so much and has been so consistent.”
