Luke Donald or Justin Rose – the better performer of 2012
This year has been sensational in the world of golf. There were many ups and downs, many comebacks made, and some amazing shots.
We saw Rory McIlroy rise to the top of the summit, as he finished off with probably his best year to date so far. Tiger Woods also made a stunning comeback, recording three victories and more importantly, there were some new faces doing very well too.
One golfer who has been excellent throughout his career is Luke Donald. Last year, he was the number one ranked player in the world. Probably his only disappointment to date can be said that he has not yet won a major.
On the other hand, we have not seen much of Justin Rose. However, the Englishman has been absolutely superb this season. Playing on the European and PGA Tour, Rose has had some memorable moments this year.
Comparing their seasons is not very easy. Both of them have very different playing strategy. However, there is one factor which is common in them, they play on the both sides of Atlantic and this is not an easy thing to do.
Luke Donald, just like every other year, has been extremely consistent with his performances this year as well. Although he has not recorded as many wins as he would have liked, it was still a decent season for him.
The Englishman won the Transitions Championship earlier this year on the PGA Tour. In fact, he was still the top ranked player mid way through the season.
His form in the later part slipped a little. Although he won the Ryder Cup, he could not record a major victory on the PGA Tour.
In the majors as well, he was not very impressive. His best finish was T5 at the Open Championship. He missed just one cut on the PGA Tour and that was in the US Open.
On the European Tour, he won the BMW PGA Championship but could not record any victory after that. He was also in contention at the DP World Tour Championship but his last round’s poor performance cost him the tournament.
On the other hand, Justin Rose had a magnificent season. He started off brilliantly by winning the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
The Englishman was absolutely brilliant on the PGA Tour, as he finished second in the Tour Championship and was very instrumental in Europe’s success in the Ryder Cup.
Rose missed only one cut on the PGA Tour and that was at the Royal Lytham, where he faced some problems in the windy conditions.
In the majors, he showed some excellent performances. In the Masters, he was T8 and in the PGA Championship he finished at T3.
However, his highlight of the year can be his second place finish at the DP World Tour Championship. Rose carded a stunning round of 10-under on the last day and gave Rory McIlroy something to sweat on.
Rose finished the season at number four in the world golf rankings but he was second in the Race to Dubai standings.
It can be said that Rose has had a better season than Donald. The world number two, Donald was very shaky in the majors, whereas Rose was very calm, composed and recorded two excellent finishes.
Whereas on the Tours, both of them recorded just one victory but it was Rose’s rise to the top which was very impressive.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: