Luke Donald caps the first round of the Barclays Scottish Open with a 67
World number one Luke Donald has completed his first round of the Barclays Scottish Open and has achieved a five-under-par, 67. The Englishman birdied six holes against a single bogey to attain the finish. The player is bidding to
retain his world number one throne and for that, he has to finish in the Top-5 by the end of Sunday.
Before coming to Castle Stuart, Donald was confident that he would make it to the top despite inclement weather conditions prevalent on the course.
He also talked about the severity of the course and said, “There is not as much rough as in 2003, but I don't think it needs that. The fairways are somewhat bouncy. I thought it was a fair setup; the greens had plenty of grass on.
The course was in great shape and I think it will be one of those Opens where the weather decides the score rather than the course setup.”
Donald is carrying a wonderful form since the start of the season. He kicked off in the current season with a victory at WGC-Accenture World Match Play Championship and followed it with a triumph at BMW PGA Championship. The two victories
shot him to the top of the world rankings.
However, now he is facing a threat from his compatriot Lee Westwood, who is 0.35 points away from the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). If Westwood manages to finish in the Top-3, he will overtake Donald in the
rankings.
Despite that, Donald is at his ease. According to him, his appearance in the Barclays Scottish Open is his preparation for the Open Championship, which is the next major of the season.
Commenting on the issue, Donald said, “My Open record has not been good until the past couple of years and the preparation I have been doing leading up to the Open has really helped.”
Jamie Donaldson birdied the same number of holes against a single bogey to join Donald at the fifth spot. The Welshman, with such a superb start, is bound to finish in the top section of the leaderboard by the end of the weekend.
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