Luke Donald will aim to continue a stunning spell of form when he headlines an impressive cast list for this week’s Celtic Manor Wales Open on The Twenty Ten Course at The Celtic Manor Resort.
The 32 year old Englishman almost claimed the BMW PGA Championship crown at Wentworth Club two weeks ago but had to settle for second place in The European Tour’s flagship event, before ensuring any winning celebrations were put on hold for a mere seven days with a stunning victory in the Madrid Masters on Sunday.
The victory – Donald’s first in Europe since the Omega European Masters in Switzerland in 2004 and his first worldwide since his triumph in the 2006 Honda Classic on the US PGA Tour – moved him to ninth place on the Official World Golf Ranking and also into the current automatic placings for a spot in Colin Montgomerie’s European Ryder Cup Team in October.
“The Ryder Cup is always a goal of mine,” he said. “I’ve had probably two of the best experiences on a golf course in The Ryder Cup, in 2004 and 2006, and I think sometimes having a great team experience like that can spur you on in your individual game.
“So it’s really important for me to make the Team, and that was one of the reasons in my decision to play at Celtic Manor. It was also nice to come and play a run of events in Europe to try to get a bit of a rhythm going and, of course, to get the win in Madrid after coming so close at Wentworth was just fantastic.
“So hopefully I can have another good week in Wales and continue to catch Colin’s eye. It’s great to be in the automatic team placings at the moment but I have got to try and ensure that I stay there.”
Montgomerie himself will tee up and will be intrigued to see how the cream of European Tour talent cope with subtle changes he has made – in conjunction with European Golf Design and the team at Celtic Manor itself – to The Twenty Ten Course which will host The Ryder Cup itself in four months time.
In addition to Montgomerie, 11 players who have played in a selection of the past four Ryder Cups are in action – Thomas Björn, Darren Clarke, Niclas Fasth, Søren Hansen, David Howell, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Graeme McDowell, Paul McGinley, Phillip Price, Oliver Wilson and Donald – alongside a host of up and coming talent all eager to sample that unique Ryder Cup experience for the first time.
Included in that number and unquestionably the man who will carry the bulk of the home support this week is Welshman Rhys Davies who is enjoying a superb rookie year on The European Tour having come through the Challenge Tour in 2009.
The young man from Bridgend – who celebrated his 25th birthday last Friday – notched his first European Tour triumph in the Trophée Hassan II in March and ran Donald close in a thrilling duel for the Madrid Masters title on Sunday, eventually coming up just one stroke short of the Englishman.
“It’s always great to play in Wales in front of home supporters and my friends and family, so hopefully I can capitalise on the way I played in Madrid and put on another decent performance,” he said. “I played well to finish in the top 20 last year, so hopefully I can finish even higher this season. I like the course, because it seems to suit my game and fit my eye, particularly off the tee. I also holed some nice putts there last year, particularly on the last day, so the place definitely holds some good memories for me.
“Obviously with it being Ryder Cup year there will be a lot of attention on the event but I think Celtic Manor is the perfect venue to host The Ryder Cup. It’s set in some beautiful countryside so shows off Wales as a country, and it also shows that Welsh golf itself is on the rise. The closer we get to The Ryder Cup, the more people will start taking about it and the more the excitement will build and I’m sure we’ll get a flavour of that this week.”
Another man back in action in the Principality will be England’s Simon Khan, a winner of The Celtic Manor Wales Open himself back in 2004 and, of course, the man who pipped Donald to the BMW PGA Championship title in thrilling fashion at Wentworth Club two weeks ago.
Khan is one of six former Wales Open champions in the field and included in that number is the man who took the title 12 months ago to mark his maiden European Tour triumph, Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl.
“I can’t wait to get back to Celtic Manor to defend my title,” he said. “I’ve got great memories of my victory there last year. I really enjoy playing the course – the finishing holes are very tough, but a lot of fun to play, and that’s how it should be.
“Unfortunately I couldn’t really celebrate properly last year because my girlfriend was eight months pregnant at the time, so she couldn’t have a drink! But we had a nice celebration after she gave birth to our beautiful daughter, and we’re all looking forward to going back.”
