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ABU DHABI GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

January 15, 2008

Luke Donald

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

SCOTT CROCKETT: Luke, thanks very much for coming in to join us as always and welcome to the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship for the first time. Obviously you came for the sun and the blazing temperatures and what else has tempted you over here!!?
LUKE DONALD: Well, yeah, I've heard very good things about the Middle East tournaments.
And obviously I spoke to Paul Casey this morning and he said, yeah, he thinks it's the third time or fourth time he's been here and he's not seen a drop of rain. Obviously a little bit adverse weather conditions to deal with, but hopefully come Thursday it will clear up.
But I'm glad to be here and looking forward to it.
SCOTT CROCKETT: When did you travel over?
LUKE DONALD: I came direct from New York. I got here Monday morning.
SCOTT CROCKETT: And had you played at all, the course?
LUKE DONALD: I got eight holes in and walked the ninth because it was raining too hard.
SCOTT CROCKETT: Your thoughts on the eight you played?
LUKE DONALD: Very good test. I think even if there isn't bad weather, you know, the course is set up quite tough. I think the fairways, not narrow, but not big targets. And if you miss the fairways, the rough is very penal.
So greens are obviously in good shape, someone who can hit a lot of fairways and greens is going to do well this week. I'm not sure what winning score was last year, but I've heard there's a lot more rough this year.
SCOTT CROCKETT: I've read that your season was consistent if not spectacular; is that a fair assessment?
LUKE DONALD: Consistent, not what I wanted at the end of the year. No, it wasn't my best year. I got off to a decent start, but the last six or so months were somewhat disappointing for me. I wasn't as consistent. I didn't hit the ball as well, and my game suffered a little bit.
But I'm looking forward to this year. This is a new year, and you know, feeling very positive actually.
SCOTT CROCKETT: Did it have something to do with your wedding off of it?
LUKE DONALD: I don't think so. Obviously having a wedding and having a wedding was a little bit of a distraction, but you know, I only hope that it's made my life better. I don't feel like it was a distraction for my golf. My swing got a little bit off-kilter and it's something I've addressed over the off-season and working on.
SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks for that. We'll take some questions.

Q. Did you pack any waterproofs?
LUKE DONALD: I was smart enough to look at the forecast and rain was in the forecast, so I do have sweaters and stuff. So, yeah, I think I'm reasonably well prepared.

Q. About getting Ryder Cup points early.
LUKE DONALD: Well, that's one reason for coming here to Abu Dhabi, and I'm playing next week in Qatar, as well. But play a few more events in Europe to hopefully rank up a few more points toward hopefully getting back on the team for the Europeans.
It's obviously a goal of mine to be a part of that team again and it's going to take playing well in the European events I play, but also the majors and the world events are very key.

Q. What have you been doing since you last played at the Volvo Masters?
LUKE DONALD: Was quite busy after Volvo Masters, went to Japan and finished third in the Dunlop, sixth in Sun City and I played the Target, so I've been reasonably busy.
I had four weeks without playing any golf, four weeks without any tournaments, two weeks without really touching a club and the last two weeks I've really been hitting the range hard and I've been working on a few things, just getting my swing in a little bit better position.

Q. You are constantly linked with Paul Casey and Nick Dougherty - do you compare yourself with what they're doing?
LUKE DONALD: No, I don't really compare myself to those two. I don't really class myself into an English group.
Obviously I'm just trying to be the best player I can be. I'm not really thinking about their golf or how they are playing. Obviously if they do well, it can act as a motivation, you know, because I've played with them. I feel like if they can do it, why can't I.
But other than that, really, I guess the only player I'm really trying to compare myself to is Tiger. That's who I'm trying to emulate and trying to get to his stage. He's the one guy you kind of look at a little bit more than the other players.

Q. Any equipment changes?
LUKE DONALD: No real changes over the off-season. I started using the Mizuno driver back in October but other than that, I put in a new set of irons, same brand, same model, same everything, just a new set. Other than that, everything's the same.

Q. Sponsors all the same?
LUKE DONALD: Everything is pretty similar there, too. Still have some sponsors obviously with Mizuno, Ralph Lauren, a Rolex, a few other things maybe on the horizon, who knows.

Q. Have you done any painting?
LUKE DONALD: I started one just before Christmas. I might be doing another one in a few weeks. I know the GOLF CHANNEL has approached me. They are doing some kind of big father/son idea going forward in 2008 and they wanted me to do a painting they could use as a promotional thing. So we'll see if that works out.

Q. What is the main thing you need to do to get you up there with Tiger?
LUKE DONALD: I think first of all I need to get my swing to a point where it's really a little bit more consistent. The last few months, my swing has gone a little bit too flat, a little bit too laid off.
Just really need to work on getting it a little bit more solid, a little bit more repetitive, more consistent. It gets to the stage where I'm hitting a little bit more fairways, a little bit more greens and getting my statistics a little bit better to have think chance to play at any kind of level similar to Tiger's.
It's just going to take a lot of hard work more than anything. Again, I'm really just trying to see how good Luke Donald can be. I obviously want to be as good as Tiger and I don't know if I will ever be as good as Tiger. Just try to get better and better as much as I can and see where that takes me.

Q. Has there been anything you've seen in Abu Dhabi that you'd like to paint?
LUKE DONALD: It's been a bit too wet to sit outside. But obviously when you're driving in, it's unbelievable, that new mosque. It's pretty unbelievable building.
Obviously the painting really is kind of in the background more than anything. Obviously I concentrate mainly on the golf but I do occasionally get away from the golf and do a little bit of painting. Been a little bit on the back burner the last few years.
SCOTT CROCKETT: Luke, thanks very much as always and good luck this week.

End of FastScripts

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