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BRITISH MASTERS SUPPORTED BY SKY SPORTS

October 11, 2016

Luke Donald

Watford, Hertfordshire, England

STEVE TODD: Luke, traditionally we would welcome you to the tournament, but I don't know if it's more appropriate for you to welcome us.

LUKE DONALD: Anything I can do for you? (Laughter).

STEVE TODD: Obviously you've achieved so much in the game, but how satisfying is it and how proud is it to come here and after all the work you've put in this year, to see your face an all the posters and all the work that's been done?

LUKE DONALD: This is something that I'll remember for awhile. It's been very proud to be a part of this, on a different side to what I usually am. Just to see how tournaments are run, what goes into it. Trying to find unique ways to bring attendance up to create a buzz, create some events that are unique to our game, and trying to create a little bit more awareness for the game in general.

Obviously the tournament staff here have done a wonderful job. I played a few holes yesterday and I played a few holes on Monday. I think the course is looking fantastic. I heard a lot of very positive comments from the players already that I've seen today, and excited for the week. Excited that there's been a big build up and I'm excited to get going.

STEVE TODD: From a playing point of view, you'd like to perform as well as you can this week. You've had a little bit of a break. How refreshed, how ready to go are you?

LUKE DONALD: Yeah, I've had four weeks off since the BMW Championship and the FedExCup over there in the US. Yeah, I put my clubs away for a couple weeks. Really felt like I played a lot leading up to that and I needed a break, and been working on my game for a couple weeks now and getting ready for this week. But I feel pretty refreshed and excited to get back into competition after a mini-break.

Q. You talked about generating a buzz, there was quite a big buzz in golf this week with Tiger Woods hoping to make his come back and he's now not. Does that put a damper on things for you, and will we see him again competing?
LUKE DONALD: I tried my hardest to get him to come here -- but I don't think that was going to happen. I think we all want to see Tiger back. We want to see how he's going to play and how he's going to perform. He obviously still, despite not having played much in the last year or so, still moves the needle in golf. We would love to see him back. Hopefully he comes back sooner than later.

Obviously sounds like clinically he feels fine. He's just not quite ready to tee it up from a mental standpoint perhaps. That's certainly what I gathered from his comments. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later. We'll welcome him back. He's good for the game when he's playing.

Q. Is that one thing that the golf fans cling on to; sounds like he's actually fit now, so could be back in a few weeks' time when his game is there perhaps.
LUKE DONALD: I hope so. As I said, he'll come back when he feels he's ready. I'm not sure, when you take a break, if you're ever ready. I think sometimes you want to dive in a little bit and get stuck in he'll be performing well. You've got to put under that and play. He'll know when he's ready and hopefully that's sooner rather than later.

Q. How much time does hosting a tournament take? How much do you actually have to do to get involved, and with that in mind, how is your own game?
LUKE DONALD: Well, we did a couple of days of filming here just before Wentworth. So I came early for Wentworth and did a couple days of filming and promotion for the event. So the commercials you'll see on SKY and print media, some other stuff that we did, an initiation with a local school, designed a flag, and did some filming for that. So it was a busy couple days.

Leading up to this week, not so much. They wanted to do it before so I can concentrate this week. Obviously I have more responsibility this week than I would have in a usual event, but it's a very manageable amount, so I can concentrate on my game.

Yeah, my game, obviously I've had four weeks off. I feel like during the FedEx Playoffs, I really saw some positive signs and I felt like there was a lot more consistency in my game. I didn't quite take off and have great performances. Had a runner-up finish in Greensboro, which was good. But although my results were steady and a lot more consistent, they weren't quite as good as I'd like.

But I feel like I'm certainly trending in the right direction.

Q. With all the running about you're doing, is it obvious, is it certain, that it's going to impinge on your ability to practice and make an impression on the leaderboard this week?
LUKE DONALD: Well, there's a little bit more time that they need from me this week, but it's not going to impinge on my performance, or certainly if I don't play well this week. That's why we did those two days back in May, to get a bulk of the workout of the way so I could be prepared and best prepared to play well this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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