Donald buoyed by positive Open

World number one Luke Donald is in high spirits ahead of the US PGA Championship after matching his previous best Open performance at Royal Lytham and St Annes

Luke Donald

Luke Donald is upbeat after finishing in a tie for 5th at the 141st Open Championship and still feels he can repeat last season's historic feat - wining both the European Tour and PGA Tour money lists.

The Englishman - speaking at the official opening of Mizuno's Performance Centre at London's Centre Point building - said he was excited for the rest of the season after seeing his recent hard work pay off.

"A lot of positives came out of the weekend after the disappointment of the US Open, and I was able to turn that around and really learn from my mistakes. I left Lytham feeling very confident for the rest of the season," he said.

"Obviously I'd done a lot of work on my golf game, which showed. It was a successful week. I was only one or two shots away from really being in the mix all week. I certainly played well enough to win, I just needed a few more putts to drop.

"In terms of mentally, I wanted to approach the Open with a bit more control. Even though you are going to be nervous and up tight, you go out there and decide how you want to feel.

"I wanted to approach it with a more fun, light-hearted attitude, because that's when I play my best golf, and I think that showed."

Donald will now embark on a busy few weeks, playing the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and US PGA Championship before the Fed-Ex Cup play-offs and the Ryder Cup.

"The next couple of tournaments will be vital if I want to win both money lists. I obviously still have a chance. One good tournament in a world event or a major would go a long way.

"I'm excited about the next few events. I've made a lot of strides in recent weeks, and I will use all the confidence I gained this week going forward.

"You forget some of the good things sometimes after a week like the US Open. It can be quite tough to get over a performance like that, but I put it away pretty quickly.

"I was able to switch into a better frame of mind and I'll certainly take that to the US PGA." 

Luke Donald was speaking at the official opening of the Mizuno Performance Centre - open to the public between the 24th July and 12th August at Centre Point Building, 101- 103 New Oxford Street. Visit www.mizunoseiei.com for further details.

Nick Bonfield
Features Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x