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THE BARCLAYSAugust 29, 2010Luke DonaldPARAMUS, NEW JERSEY Q. When did you find out? LUKE DONALD: On the tenth hole. Q. What was your reaction? LUKE DONALD: Deny it, it's up in the air, probably one of the craziest selections for a Ryder Cup ever. Guys in Top 10 didn't know if they were going to be playing. It was very anxious moments and obviously there was some relief and very excited to be back on the team and to be part of the Ryder Cup again. I missed it back in 2008 and I'm looking forward to being a part of it. Q. What was in your favor, was it just playing so well in Wales or is it possible to say? LUKE DONALD: It's hard to say. Only Monte will know that. Obviously I feel bad for the guys who didn't make it. I feel bad for Paul and Justin had a good chance, too. How I win this year, your team has to look harder at the qualification system and whether it's the correct way to do it or whether there's a better way. I think golf really is becoming a world game and I understand they won't protect the European TOUR but at the same time, the top guys are going to want to play against the best players in the world no matter what. And shouldn't be penalized for that. Q. 28, now you're on the Ryder Cup team and bogeyed the next two holes, any correlation? LUKE DONALD: Somewhat, actually. It did throw me off a little bit. As I said, I felt bad for the guys who didn't make it. I think especially for Paul. I know Justin had a legitimate chance as well as being on that team, and it wouldn't surprise me if he was picked, but Paul Casey, No. 9 in the world, finished second at the British Open, nearly top 10 at the PGA, great match play record, to see him left off the team, it was disappointing. Obviously my brother brought his bag, too, I was disappointed for him as well. Maybe did throw me off a little bit. I was trying to get it out of my head and just play golf. But I didn't do a very good job on the back nine. Q. What kind of emotions the last few days? LUKE DONALD: A lot of swing in emotions, exactly. This is a crazy selection -- crazy Ryder Cup year for Europe. A lot of things happened that haven't happened for a while, two guys in Europe winning majors, kind of threw it off a little bit. But in a good way it was a good problem for Monte, and in a bad way I feel bad that he to leave some people out. And as I said, perhaps European TOUR have to look a little bit at the selection process, whether it's the correct way to do it. I know for the European TOUR, if they win, Europe, it's very beneficial for the European TOUR both in image and financially. So I think it's in their best interests that they have the best players on the team. Q. Gleneagles this week, did you have a feeling it would be two of the four guys here, that he would be one of the picks? LUKE DONALD: It was still very hard to tell. I had no idea and Monte wasn't giving anything away. He texted me this morning just saying with the timing of everything, he'll let me know once the tournament is done and just before he was going to make his announcements, obviously I was on the course so I never saw that. But it was very much up in the air. I think he could have had a legitimate chance -- legitimate reason to pick any one of those five. Q. What would you say to Paul and Justin and your brother as well? LUKE DONALD: Just sorry. Sorry it worked out this way. I think any other Ryder Cup they would have been on the team easily. And it's just disappointing. Q. Do you reckon your hot start today had an effect on the decision? LUKE DONALD: I doubt it. Probably Monlinari's win probably did. But hats off to him, winning two big events close to that. Probably deserved a pick, too. But I'm not sure if Monte was even watching over here. Q. The way it ended up playing in with Hanson jumping in last week and I think he knocked Paul out, it's going to be six rookies on the team, which seems like a lot, right? What was your first time like and six rookies, does it give you any pause being the favorites and all? LUKE DONALD: My rookie time, it was tough. It was nerve-racking. I think my first match I played with Paul McGinley. He was a calm influence over me and kind of steadied me and got me thinking the right way and got me enjoying the Ryder Cup experience. And it's kind of the things I'll be probably be telling the rookies, the same kind of things. And it's nothing wrong with having six rookies, I think the U.S. team has some rookies as well. And it just means that European golf is strong. New talent emerging, and that's good for the game. Q. Obviously had a point for the qualifying system needing a change, but having said that, players like Paul had a chance to go to Gleneagles and get back in after they were knocked out. Do you think that was by mistake? Do you think it was more the burden should also be on the players as well to qualify when they can? LUKE DONALD: I can't speak for other players. Personally, the beginning of the year I sat down and really thought about my schedule and the best way to make the team. And I went over and played a good chunk of my year in Europe. I played after the PLAYERS Championship in early May my next PGA TOUR event excluding the majors was the Canadian Open in July. That's when I went over and chose to try to make the team. And I think we all have responsibilities to both tours if we play over here and, you know, you can't fault a person for setting their schedule as best they think they can. Q. Can you go over your round? LUKE DONALD: It was a round of two halves. I was in the zone on the front nine. 28 shot 7 under. Got thrown off a little bit probably from all the Ryder Cup thoughts and knowing that was in and knowing who wasn't in and who was in. But that's my fault. I didn't compartmentalize enough and hit a few loose shots on the back nine. The greens -- the course is really firming up with the greens getting quite crusty, and if you're a little off it's easy to make mistakes. And, yeah, disappointing to finish like that. I had -- after such a strong front nine, I had a chance to really post a good number. But I didn't get it done. Q. Looked like you might get to 7 there, too. It just lipped out. Seventh straight birdie? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, that was a long one. End of FastScripts |
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