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VOLVO WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

May 17, 2011

Luke Donald

CASARES, SPAIN

STEVE TODD: Luke, thank you for joining us. It's your first time across in Europe this year and good to see you back over here. Another strong performance there at THE PLAYERS Championship on the weekend, you're obviously coming here with a lot of confidence.
LUKE DONALD: Yeah, the confidence is very high right now. I mean, I've been playing very consistently now for a good six months, and I think the win at the Match Play really elevated that confidence level and kind of been knocking on the door ever since, knocking out those Top-10s and having chances to win, which is what it's all about.
So, I'm excited to be here. Obviously I enjoy match play. My record is very good at match play, and excited to be a part of this great field.
STEVE TODD: You touched on the Match Play there, obviously that was a fine performance in Arizona and you were pretty much in control all week. How much confidence do you bring into an event with such a strong field here?
LUKE DONALD: A lot of confidence. You can certainly draw on that. I think just my record in Ryder Cups, Walker Cups, the Match Play event this year, speak for themselves. I enjoy match play. I enjoy the challenge of that one-against-one over 18 holes, and you know, it's a different feel than it is normal stroke play.
So I like the fact that you can be a little bit more aggressive. It's just a little bit different game set, and just a little bit of a different approach, which is fun.
STEVE TODD: I wonder if you can just reflect on your first round opponents. You have Ryan Moore, and Ross Fisher who is defending champion.
LUKE DONALD: Yeah I don't think there's going to be an easy group in any of these. They are all worthy players. Ross obviously has played well here before and he's defending. He knows the course well and will have good memories from I believe a couple of years ago.
Ryan, again, a great match-play amateur record, as, U.S. Amateur champion and been very steady on the PGA Tour the last couple of years. Certainly not an easy group.

Q. You're No. 2 two English up there, world No. 1 and 2, a scenario that seemed pretty unlikely not so long ago. Can you talk about that?
LUKE DONALD: It's been fun. There's definitely been a mix up in the World Rankings through the last couple of years. Obviously Tiger has had some personal issues and it's affected him on the course a little bit. And he's given us all a chance to go for that No. 1 spot. But it's been fun to climb up and see myself getting nearer to the top.
I think Europe is enjoying a great period of golf right now. Very similar to some of the old -- the generation back in the early 90s, the Faldos and Seves and Ollie and Woosnam and all those guys. It's a great time for European golf, and especially for English golf I suppose, having the No. 1 and No. 2, hopefully England are proud.

Q. If you were in charge of the schedule, how many match-play events would you have in the year?
LUKE DONALD: It's certainly nice to break it up. We play a lot of individual, stroke-play, and match play, it is a different feel. It's a different mind-set. It's a different approach to the event, and I think two it, three or four events would be very nice.
It's obviously logistically a little bit tough. You can't have a full field match-play event. You would have to have it limited and that's what makes it tough to have more than a few events.

Q. And Martin Kaymer was just in and he was saying the perfect golfer at the moment is Lee Westwood's long game and your short game.
LUKE DONALD: I'm hitting it pretty good off the tee right now, I don't know -- (laughter). Yeah, Lee has excelled in his long game the last couple of years. He's been extremely solid. He hits it long and straight and his iron play is very good.
Obviously my short game, I've had to be good at short game the last -- before this year, my long game wasn't as good as it needed to be, and I had to rely heavily on my short game. So it would be a good combination. We kind of showed that in The Ryder Cup; it was a good combination.

Q. And how much is your long game improving?
LUKE DONALD: It's definitely going the right way. Look at my stats through the U.S. Tour, average 70-plus percentage GIR and last week, and 70 percent fairways hit, too. The goal is always two-thirds of each at a minimum, and I'm around -- I think I'm around that on both stats right now, which is up five or six percent since last year.

Q. What's your secret then for the short game, if you can let the golfer know outside? Maybe you'll tell us something?
LUKE DONALD: There isn't a secret really. It's good fundamentals. I have a good coach in Pat Goss, and we work a lot on good, solid fundamentals. All going back to the same things. And a lot of time. That's all it boils down to, really, just paying close attention to the fundamentals and putting in the time.

Q. What's the ratio between the long and the short game you practise, more or less?
LUKE DONALD: On general, if I'm hitting balls for an hour, I spend two hours on the short game chipping and putting, so about double.

Q. And if I were to ask you one point for the short game, what is the most important fundamental? You are allowed to say only one thing. Is it touch? Is it how you grip, how soft you grip?
LUKE DONALD: Those aren't fundamentals.

Q. What is it?
LUKE DONALD: It's setup. Especially in putting. The setup is the most important thing. Once you get that correct, the rest kind of takes care of itself.

Q. And with the announcement today, you'll want to be on The Ryder Cup Team in Paris.
LUKE DONALD: Yeah, I would love to. It's 2018, so seven years, I'll be 40. Hopefully I'm still chugging along. I kind of have that kind of game where hopefully I can keep competing for a long time. I would love to be there. I think it's disappointing for the other countries. I think everyone had a good -- what's the word, good -- they had --

Q. A good bid?
LUKE DONALD: A good bid.
From an outsider's view, France is a very logical choice. It has a great course already, great accommodations there, the Trianon Palace and the Palace of Versailles. They can do a lot of fun events down in Paris. I think it will be a great event and I hope to be there.

Q. Do you think it's good to be getting back to a golf course in Europe where there really won't be any controversy over the course?
LUKE DONALD: It's a solid course. I played The French Open last year. It's a linksy style course, it's tough, it's tight, great finish. I think it will be -- there should not be any complaints about the course. I think it will be a fantastic venue.

Q. How many times are you going to be playing in Europe this year?
LUKE DONALD: This week, next week, playing The Scottish Open, I'll be in Madrid to defend.

Q. Open, presumably?
LUKE DONALD: The Open. After that, I'm not sure. I'll be at The Race to Dubai.

Q. That's not Europe?
LUKE DONALD: Not in Europe, no. So probably just those four or five.

Q. Thirteen Top-10s in the last 14 events; have you ever seen that sort of run of consistency?
LUKE DONALD: It's not something I've really thought about. Again, I just -- you know, every year, looking at how I can keep improving and keep getting better, and I think that's just an outcome.
It just means I'm working on the right things going in the right direction, and giving myself chances to win. I would have loved to have turned a couple of those Top-10s into wins.
I'll be the first one to say that I probably should have won one or two more, but if you don't give yourself chances, then you're not going to have any chance. So I'm doing the right things.

Q. Out of the four majors, which one would you like to win most?
LUKE DONALD: The Open Championship. Just coming from the U.K., I would love to win that one. It's the home major for me. I would take any of them, though.

Q. And the ultimate dream?
LUKE DONALD: The ultimate dream? What are we talking here, golf? (Laughter).
Pick up a couple majors, win The Race to Dubai and the FedExCup in the same year that, would be pretty good.

Q. Just wonder, you said after the last round at PLAYERS, you hadn't played your best; what would the Luke Donald of last year done if he had not played his best --
LUKE DONALD: Probably not. My game certainly is improving, and I think the fact that I am grinding out these -- or turning out these Top-10s week-in, week-out, I'm getting to the point where I kind of expected to keep doing that. And it's a good place to be. I mean, I don't take this game for granted. Still have to put the work in to get there.
The last six months, eight months, certainly my long game, and my iron play has gotten better. I think it's showing in my consistency, I'm still being very good around the greens. I feel like I'm getting more of an all-around package in my game. It's obviously led to that consistency.

Q. Presume it's a mental improvement, as well?
LUKE DONALD: The mental improvement comes from seeing the physical results. I mean, it's not like I'm sitting at home saying to myself, I must play better or I must be positive. It's all coming from seeing positive results.

Q. Do you write little things down?
LUKE DONALD: All physical stuff. Last week, 40 holes without making a bogey, stuff like that, that just adds to that positive mind-set.

Q. And have you written anything down here this week?
LUKE DONALD: No, not this morning yet. Too early.

Q. We are only a month from the U.S. Open, you're on the run, Lee has just won his last two tournaments, and yet I think the bookies, the last time I looked, anyway, Tiger is still favourite.
LUKE DONALD: Well, that's because people are still putting money on Tiger. They believe in him. That's how the bookies work, isn't it. The more money goes on someone.

Q. But is that a true reflection of where we are?
LUKE DONALD: Probably not. Not if you look at form. But you know, I mean, if people want to -- obviously that's where the money's going, so that's -- I just -- people still believe in Tiger. I don't think that's a bad thing. But obviously he needs to prove that he's playing a little bit better, and he obviously -- now, with his added injury scare, that there's a little bit more of an unknown there. I don't really pay attention to odds to be honest with you.

Q. You talked about the physical side. How much do you work out on a weekly basis?
LUKE DONALD: Try to work out a good bit. Up to four or five times a week when I'm playing, and nearly every day when I'm at home. I've got a little bit stronger in terms of weights on off weeks, but on the road, I have a few different workouts, one with weights where I'm trying to gain some strength.

Q. Running?
LUKE DONALD: Weight lifting. One with more medicine balls where I'm a bit more speed work, to gain more speed in my swing and another one is just some simple stretches and corrective exercises that make sure I'm focusing on those week areas.
STEVE TODD: Many thanks for joining us.

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