Scottish Open: Pressure of number 1 player in the world with no majors
The Scottish Open starts from the 12th of July 2012 and it is going to be a four-day-event. The stage is set for the players to go head to head on the prestigious Castle Stuart golf course. The defending champion, Luke Donald will have to deal
with extra pressure before the match.
Luke Donald became the number one player in the official golf ranking in May 2011. He was able to occupy the spot for 40 weeks and then it was someone else’s turn to claim the throne.
Only after two weeks, Donald reclaimed his former number one ranking. This was far a spell of 5 weeks, then, Rory McIlroy became the number one again.
Donald’s third spell was a small one and after getting removed from the spot for the third time, he regained the thrown for the fourth time on 27 May 2012.
Donald has been in the list of the top-10 players for over 150 weeks and cumulatively has spent about a year on the number one spot.
Luke Donald is still the number one player on the planet. Unfortunately for him, he has not been able to win a major. The best he has ever done in a major event is the third position.
Twice he has finished on the third spot – in the 2005 Masters and in the 2006 PGA Championship. For this reason, he is considered the best player never to win a major.
Now the event at the Castle Stuart is about to start and there is going to be added pressure on the 34-year-old. In an interview, the English professional golfer admitted that not winning a major adds tremendous amount of pressure on him.
Donald said in an interview, “I’ve realised it for a while. I’ve understood that for probably a couple of years. I know it’s a difference in myself. I get a little bit more agitated, a little bit more anxious”.
“That would prove to me that it’s not just a physical problem. It’s more about getting into that moment of not trying to press too hard, not trying to force the issue. It’s just about being a little more relaxed and letting it happen,” he added.
Now the question is, will Donald be able to cope up with the pressure as he defends his title at Castle Stuart? Nothing can be said right now, only time will tell.
Tags: