Luke Donald’s jinx continues at the majors
In the last six years, Luke Donald has not scored an under-par score in the first round of a major. He was on the course though this time, until he bogeyed on the eighteenth hole. In general, it was not a good day for English golfers, as even Lee Westwood
finished way below at T99 with 3-over par.
Luke Donald was a pre-tournament favourite but does not look like one anymore. The English hopes were resting on the shoulders of Donald and Westwood but both of them, especially Westwood, failed to live up to the expectations.
Donald’s first round performance was not as bad as it seems. The conditions were a little mild. However, considering the fact that he is now six shots adrift of the first round leader, Adam Scott, make things a little worse for him.
Donald gave a steady performance in the opening round. He started beautifully with two pars and a birdie on the third. Then after fourteen consecutive pars, there was a lapse in concentration on the eighteenth hole, where Donald managed a bogey.
It was a pretty disappointing last hole by the world number one. On the last hole, Donald hit a decent tee shot but the next shot went straight into the bunker and there was a big cry from Donald.
“Oh no,” he said, grinning widely at his own misfortune. His chip from the bunker was sublime and the ball stopped within ten feet from the pin. Luke missed an easy put there which might in the end prove to be costly.
“I thought about trying to play a round in a major without making a bogey,” he said.
On the other hand, another pre-tournament favourite Lee Westwood started exceptionally well. He birdied his first two holes but then a barrage of errors and mistakes took hold of the world number three.
“The start sort of was a bit of a lie, really,” a candid Westwood explained later. “I was struggling in this thing at little bit. It was nice to birdie the first two holes, but I do not feel in control of the ball at the moment”.
Till the 13th hole Westwood was playing under par but four consecutive bogeys afterwards cost him the first round and probably finished his hopes of winning a major.
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