Luke Donald’s 449-hole bogey-free run comes to an end at Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
Luke Donald, who has been without a bogey for the last 449-holes, dropped a shot on the first day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship but still kept his cheeky grin on his way back to the clubhouse on a cold sunny day at Carnoustie. Starting off with
a relatively decent opening on the back nine, Donald made the turn without a blemish and carded one birdie.
He started off with considerable aplomb on the front nine pulling in three birdies and stumbled on par-four, 7th, to finish off three-under, 69, a relatively humble score on an otherwise easy playing Carnoustie.
Donald said, “I'm upset. It's the little victories in golf that you look for. I didn't want to miss it.”
The Englishman had a blistering season so far on both sides of the Atlantic and has won several events on PGA as well as on European Tour. His bogey-free run lasted for a mammoth 25 events, seven tournaments and 100 hours of good golf. A perfectionist that
Donald has been, it marks the end of what could have been unprecedented perfect putting in the history of the sport.
Donald is not only on top of the summit at the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), but is also miles ahead of his competitors on the tour money list. He is £1.4m ahead of the nearest player, Rory McIlroy, who is poised at second position on the money list.
Donald is also on top of the PGA Tour money list and if he closes the season with the current status, it will be for the first time in the history of the sport that any player has been able to summit both the money lists at the end of the season. His lead
on the PGA Tour, however, is not as strong as it is on the European Tour and is only £44,000 clear of Webb Simpson.
While analysing his situation, Donald said, “Right now I'm not planning on playing another event [on the PGA Tour] but I have to weigh up the pros and cons of trying to win the money list, for personal reasons and in terms of needing rest. I'm not sure whether
he's [Simpson] playing an event either but he might be and then I'll be tempted to add one too.”
Donald and his wife, Diane, are expecting their second child within a month’s time but the Englishman is aiming to achieve the feat and is not ready to take a break from his busy schedule. The prize money at stake in this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
is a staggering £500,000 and can easily turn the tables on Donald if he is not able to pull a strong finish.
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