Luke Donald returns home to England this week for the BMW PGA Championship aiming to join Sir Nick Faldo, Peter Alliss, Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie as the only players to win the prestigious title three times or more. In his Player Blog, the former World Number One discusses what he has been up to since landing in the UK and his hopes for the week ahead.
On Friday I took a trip down memory lane.My mum is moving house so I went through some of my old stuff. It was fun finding some things I had forgotten about, such as Walker Cup bags and old trophies, as well as some pictures from when I was a kid and from my college golf days. My mum is moving to the Bristol area to be nearer to my sister, so it is going to be strange not having the house we’ve had since I was a kid, but it was nice finding some of these old gems. I didn’t realise I had a Walker Cup bag there, so I’ll try to find a place for it in my house in America. These are great keepsakes which I will pass to my own kids. I have so many great memories of this area and playing in the BMW PGA Championship is always special for me as I get the chance to come home.
I spent the weekend at The Grove filming with Sky Sports for the British Masters. We talked with the European Tour for a number of years about trying to have more events in the UK and it was great having the British Masters back last year at Woburn. It is an honour for me being the tournament host this year and we want to continue the success that Poults had last year and make it even better if we can. We have a great facility at the Grove. Crystal Palace were also staying there on Saturday morning, so we saw them head off to the FA Cup final while we were in the middle of our filming with Sky. It was fun to do some promotion for the event to help it continue to grow. We had some kids from a local school come down and join in which is part of our aim to try to encourage as many people in Britain take up the game as possible. It was a busy weekend but we had a good time and I’m looking forward to seeing the content later this year in the build-up to the tournament. I then had a Mizuno day on Monday before I got chance to spend some time with the family on Monday afternoon. The full prep for the BMW PGA Championship then starts from Tuesday and I’ve been working hard on my game in Florida, so I’m excited to get going.
Playing with some football legends will be fun. The Pro-Am at the BMW PGA Championship has become one of the best days of the year. I’m playing with Paul Scholes, Peter Schmeichel and Jamie Redknapp this year. I’ve not met Peter or Scholesy yet, but I know Jamie very well and I’m sure we will have a great day with lots of banter. The European Tour has done a great job cultivating that day and bring in a lot of celebrities. It’s always really well attended and for us as players it is great fun. It is a nice way to start to the week.
I have great memories of Wentworth as a kid. We used to run around trying to watch some of the guys such as Seve, Faldo, Ollie and even Ernie back in the day. The course has changed a lot over the years but I can remember being excited at the chance to watch my idols. I feel very honoured to now have so many amazing memories here as a player too, winning here in 2011 and getting to World Number One, and then defending the title the next year.
We used to run around trying to watch some of the guys such as Seve, Faldo, Ollie and even Ernie back in the day.
It would be very special to win a third and join those great names who have managed to achieve that feat. I would love to get back in that winner’s circle and Wentworth would be the perfect place to do that. You always have a good feeling when you go back to somewhere you’ve done well at in the past. It is close to home for me, not too far down the road from where I grew up in High Wycombe, and I always have a lot of support. The crowds at Wentworth are always great and they motivate you too as they give you plenty of energy. It’s great to see that support I get when I come back home.
I’ll never forget the battle I had with Lee Westwood in 2011. The previous year I had come close to winning the event, but didn’t quite get it done. There was a lot on the line in 2011. I was playing great golf and it came down to a Cinderella scenario between me and Lee where whoever won also took the World Number One spot. Lee was already Number One and if I won, I would replace him. Fortunately I prevailed in a play-off and I had a great run at the top spot for over a year. I’ve got fond memories of that 18th hole. It is a risk-reward par five to finish and I’ll always remember hitting the wedge close that year to make birdie. It will always be the hole that got me to World Number One.
This is the start of a big summer for me.My game is starting to get back to where I want it to be. I would love to make the Ryder Cup team. I feel like I’m playing well enough to make it to Hazeltine and contribute and be someone who would help Europe retain the Ryder Cup. It would be great to do well here at Wentworth this week and then I’m due to play in France, which is a double-counting event, and the Scottish Open, where I’ve had some success in the past at Castle Stuart.
This is a big summer for me. My game is starting to get back to where I want it to be.
So there are a lot of good events coming up and events where I’ve played well in the past. I feel like my game is right there. I’m starting to ball go in a lot more on the greens and I’m a lot more consistent from tee to green. We saw that at Hilton Head and the following week I was in the last group as well. So I’ve just got to keep building my confidence and putting myself in position. Hopefully that win is just around the corner.
