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BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

May 24, 2005

Luke Donald

SURREY, ENGLAND

SCOTT CROCKETT: Thank you very much, Luke, for coming in as always. I suppose it's appropriate in a way that we kick off the first BMW Championship with somebody who is playing in the event for the first time. Give us your thoughts on the week ahead.

LUKE DONALD: Yeah, very excited to be here. Wentworth is not too far away from where my family lives, so I get some home cooking this week, which is nice. Just looking forward to the event. It's obviously the pinnacle, kind of the flagship event for the European Tour and it's new sponsorship with BMW. It looks like it's a very well run tournament and I'm excited to be here.

SCOTT CROCKETT: When was the last time you played here, Luke?

LUKE DONALD: Probably two or three years ago. I've played here socially with some friends.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Slightly different this week.

LUKE DONALD: Yeah, the rough is a little bit thicker when I played it, than when I played it. But, yeah, obviously this is a big week, and I'm looking forward to it.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks for that. We'll take some questions.

Q. Have you played much with Faldo and Monty?

LUKE DONALD: I've played not too much with either. I played with Monty I think at the BMW Munich last year. I played with Faldo this year in China. Other than that, I'm struggling obviously Monty in the Ryder Cup, not together, but we were on the same team.

Other than that, I'm struggling to think of other times that we've actually played together. I played a few practice rounds with each of them, but those are the only two tournaments I remember playing with him.

Q. Being near home, was that a factor in deciding to play, and does that give you a bit of an edge this week?

LUKE DONALD: I don't think it gives me an edge. I think it's nice to stay home when you're playing a golf tournament, but I don't think it gives me an edge. And it really wasn't a factor in me coming here. This is a huge tournament on the European Tour and I wanted to show my support by playing in it, and that was the main reason why I'm here.

Q. How would you sum up your year so far on the U.S. Tour? You've had a couple of chances to win I think.

LUKE DONALD: Yeah, it's been a very successful start to the year. The one thing missing is a win, but I have played very well. And I've played very well in the big ones, second at THE PLAYERS Championship and third at the Masters, and also a second at the Buick. So I'm knocking on the door and hopefully keep getting myself in those positions and turn those second and third places into a win.

Q. Woosnam had some concern a couple of weeks ago about having so many players playing in America and how it might affect the opportunity of getting better players into the Ryder Cup Team. Will you amend your schedule next season taking the Ryder Cup into account, or is it something that you feel you need to worry about?

LUKE DONALD: You know, hopefully if I keep playing the way I'm playing, I'll be able to split my time on the European and the U.S. tour and hopefully it won't affect my chances of getting onto the Ryder Cup Team.

I think the qualification system will be the same as it was for Oakland Hills. So you know, I've got the World Ranking system going in my favor at the moment, and I still feel like I could play well enough in the 13 or so events that I might play over in Europe to make the team.

Q. Would you share Woosnam's concern, having so many players playing in America might affect their opportunity?

LUKE DONALD: I think the Ryder Cup record has been pretty good in the last ten years, so it might make his job a little harder picking the team. You know, some guys but you would have thought even if that's the case, then maybe they should change the qualification system. Maybe the qualification system just isn't quite working. You should be able to pick a team from the best players playing well that year, and whether they are playing in America or Europe, it shouldn't make too much of a difference.

Q. Did you come and watch this tournament growing up, and do you have any memories of it?

LUKE DONALD: Yeah, I've come here a few times. I remember watching Ernie play here, actually. My first memory of it was a number of years ago. I was just arrived to the course and I was sitting at the 13th green and I saw a ball fly in to about two feet, and it was Chip Beck. I thought, "Wow, these guys are really good golfers." And then he proceeded to miss the putt. I thought, "Well, maybe they are not that good." (Laughter) that was my first memory. That was probably a good ten years ago.

Q. After the Ryder Cup and the World Cup, has that changed your recognition factor in the U.K.; now when you're walking down the street is it a lot different from what it was 12 months ago?

LUKE DONALD: I wouldn't say I'm hugely recognized out in public, which suits me fine.

You know, I have become a lot better more well known over here, just playing around today, a lot of young kids coming up and wanting my autographs, and that's good. I think that's a little bit, you know, from playing and winning in the World Cup and in the Ryder Cup and just my general play. I've gone from probably 130 in the world at the beginning of last year to I think I'm 12 right now. So it's not just those two events. I think it's a progression of the whole year.

Q. Are you a more confident player now than you were 12 months ago because of all the good things that have happened?

LUKE DONALD: Absolutely. I think good things make you more confident and you know, I definitely go out there now to win events and I feel like I am one of the top players in the world. So your confidence does increase the better you play for sure.

Q. How much do you get stopped in the street?

LUKE DONALD: In America?

Q. No, in Britain.

LUKE DONALD: You know, I'm not sure I'm back here enough to get stopped in the street. It's occasionally.

Q. It does happen?

LUKE DONALD: It does happen, yeah.

Q. Is it more so in the States, or are you still fairly high profile there or is it balanced out?

LUKE DONALD: I think it's probably evened out a bit now. I'm trying to play schedules in Europe and in the U.S., and I think it's pretty even.

Q. Who are you going to be staying with this week, and what's the best thing about the home cooking?

LUKE DONALD: I'm just staying with my family over in High Wycombe.

Q. Your parents?

LUKE DONALD: My parents, yeah. Just, you know, I don't get to see a lot of them, so it's nice to be able to go home and spend a few hours at night with them.

Q. When were you last over here?

LUKE DONALD: Probably just I came over for that sports personality, which was just before Christmas.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Luke, thank you very much. Good luck this week.

End of FastScripts.

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