Luke Donald is hoping a return to Castle Stuart Golf Links can help rekindle his world-beating form of 2011 as he attempts to play his way into Ryder Cup contention at this week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.
The Englishman claimed the sixth of his seven European Tour titles at the coastal Inverness venue less than two months after climbing to the summit of the Official World Golf Ranking courtesy of victory at the 2011 BMW PGA Championship.
That record-breaking season, which also included a victory at the WGC - Match Play Championship, ended with Donald winning the Race to Dubai and the rankings on the other side of the Atlantic, and the 38 year old believes his game is not far away from those standards as he returns to an event in which he has an incredibly consistent record.
“I feel my ball-striking has been very close to the levels I was at in 2011,” said Donald, who in seven Scottish Open appearances has not finished worse than tied 16th. “My scoring clubs haven't been quite as good, which was obviously a big part of my success when I was number one in the world.
I'm sure Darren would love to have as many experienced players on the team as possible, perhaps that helps my cause.
“Last week in France, I think I hit close to 70 per cent of greens in regulation on a pretty tough setup of a golf course. But I just didn't score well enough. I didn't hole enough putts and I wasn't quite good enough from a hundred yards and in.
“The focus this week will be to sharpen that up and hopefully that will translate to some more success. It's always nice to come back to an event that you have previous and past success in and especially on this course. I had a great run here in 2011.
“Even though it was shortened to 54 holes, it was a great win for me. Coming back to a familiar place where you have done well gives you a little bit of a boost coming into the week.”
Donald, currently first reserve for next week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club, has played in The Ryder Cup four times but will need a very strong end to the summer in order to force his way into one of the nine automatic qualification places on offer.
But, with potential rookies such as Danny Willett, Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan all in the running to make Darren Clarke’s team, Donald is aware that his experience of the biennial clash could prove a useful addition to the armoury regardless.
“I certainly want to be part of that team,” he said. “I'm going to have to start playing a lot better, producing some results and throw in a win or two but obviously I've not given up hope.
“I'm sure Darren would love to have as many experienced players on the team as possible. I'm sure he would love for them to qualify automatically. That might be the case. I think it's always a tough decision to choose rookies as picks, especially if you have quite a few on the team already, so perhaps that helps my cause.
“But again, I'm going to have to play better and really I'd rather just earn my way on than having to rely on a pick.”
