Top-20 European players to watch out for in 2012: Part-1
European golf dominated most part of the starting year, where the once raging Tiger Woods kept struggling to snap out of his form vows and consecutive controversies which ravaged his concentration and approach.
With the Masters title going to Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, this was the first time that none of the American players were holding a major title in a season.
The European Team had already taken over its counter parts in the Ryder Cup the previous year and some of the blistering trailblazers from the European Tour ravaged fields on the PGA Tour, out rightly dominating the American golf.
The latter part of the year, however, turned out to be a breath of fresh air for the American golfers when Keegan Bradley finally claimed the PGA Championship title followed by a thrilling American victory on the President’s Cup in Australia.
The American Team also went over to win the Omega Mission Hills World Cup of Golf in China to finally claim their rightful position in the sports circles.
During the course of the current season, European Tour made some stunning discoveries in the form of Rory McIlroy, Matteo Manassero, Simon Dyson, alongside the already established players like Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell.
A quick check of the performance of these brilliant European Tour players is discussed below.
Luke Donald
Official World Golf Rankings: 1
Race to Dubai Rankings: 1
European Tour wins in 2011: 3
Luke Donald surged to stardom earlier in the year when he landed the coveted WGC Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson, Arizona. He took the better off, the then world number one, Martin Kaymer, in the final round.
Formerly known as “luke” synonymous to his name, Donald always found himself on the back foot with a short drive which severely affected his overall performance in the events.
He decided to work hard on his short game and made up the loss with exceptional precision in putting, a fact which was later commended by the “Golden Bear” of the sport, Jack Nicklaus.
Born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, Donald graduated from the Northwestern University and turned professional in the year 2001.
Although an Englishman by descent, Donald preferred to join the PGA Tour in 2001 rather than his home tour, the European Tour, and later moved to a full membership at the European Tour.
Playing extensively on both sides of the Atlantic, Donald broke the top-ten on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) in 2006, with his comprehensive victory at the Honda Classic on the PGA in March 2006.
He extended his fine form in the year 2007 and remained the highest ranked European golfer for a few weeks.
Donald won the rain-battered Southern Farm Bureau Classic and became the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and only the 11th rookie to earn a staggering $1-million on his debut year.
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