Luke Donald

Luke Campbell Donald (born December 7, 1977) is an English golfer who plays mainly on the U.S. based PGA Tour but, is also a member of the European Tour. In 2006 he reached the top ten in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time in his career. In January 2007, he reached a career high ranking of 7, and was briefly the highest ranked European golfer. He has spent over 50 weeks in the top-10. [ [http://dps.twiihosting.net/wgr/doc/content/2007%20Stats/86TO0810.pdf 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking] ]

Biography

Born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, Donald and his brother Christian played junior golf at Hazlemere and Beaconsfield Golf Clubs - Christian now caddies for Luke. Luke was the club champion of Beaconsfield twice, winning the championship first at the age of 15. He attended The Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe.

Collegiate career

Coming from England, Donald didn't know much about the collegiate recruiting process, so he joined College Prospects of America — a service that created a résumé for him and sent it to all the major colleges and universities in the United States. Several coaches responded, including Wally Goodwin at Stanford University. Donald didn't know much about Stanford, except: "that's where Tiger Woods went." Goodwin recruited Donald to join his golf squad, but when he was not admitted to the university, Goodwin turned to Jeff Mory. [ [http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/northwestern/summer2004/features/coverstory/sidebar4.htm Summer 2004, Northwestern Magazine ] ]

Donald subsequently took a golf scholarship at Northwestern University in 1997, where he studied art theory and practice, and became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Donald's golf coach was Pat Goss, men's golf coach at Northwestern University, and Donald's only instructor since. [http://www.golfdigest.com/instruction/index.ssf?/instruction/swingsequences/gd200302lukedonald.html] He won the individual NCAA men's title in 1999, beating the scoring record formerly held by Tiger Woods.

Professional career

Donald turned professional in 2001. The following year he won the rain-shortened Southern Farm Bureau Classic - becoming only the 11th rookie in PGA Tour history to earn more than $1 million in his first season. In 2004 he won the Omega European Masters and the Scandinavian Masters on the European Tour. In the same year he was a member of the victorious European Ryder Cup team and also won the WGC-World Cup for England in partnership with Paul Casey. By early 2005 he was in the top twenty of the Official World Golf Rankings and his win in the 2006 Honda Classic moved him into the top ten for the first time. Soon afterwards he moved up to ninth and in January 2007 he moved up to seventh in the world.

Donald, along with Tom Watson, was one of two players to play with Jack Nicklaus in the final two rounds of golf in his career, at the 2005 Open Championship at St Andrews.

Donald won his singles match, 2&1 against Chad Campbell in the 36th Ryder Cup to help ensure Europe win the trophy for a third successive time. Donald took part in 3 matches and won them all. He also won in the foursomes twice, with Sergio García.

Donald has amassed career earnings of over $11,000,000.

Sponsorship

Donald signed with sports management company IMG in 2003. He is also sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, whose sponsorship includes mentoring sessions with Jack Nicklaus who is also sponsored by RBS. Luke also has a multi-year contract with Mizuno. As part of this sponsorship Luke plays with Mizuno Driver, Fairway Woods, Irons and Wedges. Luke also carries a Mizuno Bag, Headcovers and Umbrella. Luke also wears his trademark Mizuno visor as part of his sponsorship. It has been reported that he receives $1 million just for wearing his Mizuno visor, and this could quadruple if he wins a major event such as the Masters. [ [http://www.worldgolf.com/newswire/browse/6372-Luke-Donald-extends-contract-with-Mizuno-as-brand-ambassador World Golf News - Luke Donald extends contract with Mizuno as brand ambassador ] ] [ [http://www.portfolio.com/culture-lifestyle/culture-inc/sports/2007/08/13/Pricing-Golfers-Wares Pricing Golfer's Wares - Portfolio.com ] ] Luke Donald also has a sponsorship deal with Footjoy, who supply his shoes.

Polo Ralph Lauren announced, in February 2007, that Luke Donald has signed a new multi-year contract with the luxury apparel company. Luke will continue to serve as a brand ambassador for Polo Ralph Lauren worldwide for the RLX Golf range. With this exclusive sponsorship, Luke will continue to wear clothing from the RLX collection and will be featured in its advertising campaign. Polo Ralph Lauren has been the exclusive apparel sponsor of Donald since 2002.

Luke Donald is among a number of professional golf players sponsored by Ralph Lauren. Others include Tom Watson, Davis Love III, Jonathan Byrd, and Morgan Pressel.

Equipment

*Driver - Mizuno MP-600
*3-Wood - Royal Collection BBD, 14 Degrees
*Hybrid - Mizuno FLI-Hi CLK, 17 Degrees
*Irons - Mizuno MP-32 (3-PW)
*Wedges - Mizuno MP Series, 54 Degrees and 60 Degrees
*Putter - Odyssey XG #7 (Butane Finish) with a black series grip
*Ball - Titleist Pro V1x - (Luke Donald's ball mark is a red dot between the Titleist and the number.)
*Glove - Mizuno Skintite Leather
*Bag - Mizuno Tour

Also in Donald's bag are;

* A couple of knitting needles and string, which he uses on the practice green for a putting drill which helps him to see how putts break.
* 2 energy bars on every round. These are eaten on the 6th and 12th tees.

Personal life

Donald met his future wife, Diane Antonopoulos from Chicago, during his college years at Northwestern University. [ [http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/6-13-2006-99097.asp Golf: Donald Mcrae Interviews Luke Donald ] ] . He proposed in June 2006, and the couple married on 24 June, 2007 on Santorini, the Greek home island of Diane's family. [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,3-2007270453,00.html Donald plans wedded bliss | The Sun |HomePage|Sport ] ] [ [http://www.mizunousa.com/news.nsf/get/30C7460F8AFCCF268525718500531ABC?OpenDocument Mizuno Usa .: In The News ] ] Donald's longstanding interest in art is well documented. An amateur artist himself, he enjoys painting and drawing when not on tour. [ [http://www.augusta.com/masters/stories/040805/ldonald_interview.shtml www.augusta.com The Masters 2008 "Interview with Luke Donald" 4/08/2005] ] In 2002, one of his oil paintings was auctioned by the PGA Tour for charity. [ [http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/spec-rel/080702aaa.html Northwestern University Athletics "Luke Donald Painting to be Auctioned..." 8/07/2002] ] Donald and his wife are also avid collectors of contemporary art. [ [http://www.golfweek.com/lifestyles/features/story/donald-feature-032408 Golfweek "My Picks: Luke Donald" 3/24/2008] ] . The couple have homes in: High Wycombe; a luxury condo decorated with art and views over Lake Michigan in Evanston, Illinois [ [http://www.golfonline.com/golfonline/features/features/article/0,17742,1145787-3,00.html GolfOnline - Brush With Greatness ] ] ; and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. [ [http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/spec-rel/031306aab.html Luke Donald Climbs to No. 10 on World Ranking List After Latest PGA Win :: Donald wins The Honda Classic by a pair of strokes over Geoff Ogilvy ] ]

Amateur wins

"this list may be incomplete"
*1999 NCAA Division I Championship
*2000 Northeast Amateur
*2001 Northeast Amateur

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour wins (2)

*2002 Southern Farm Bureau Classic
*2006 Honda Classic

European Tour wins (2)

*2004 Omega European Masters, Scandinavian Masters by Carlsberg

Other wins (1)

*2005 Target World Challenge (United States, unofficial event)

Results in major championships

Team appearances

Amateur

*Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1999 (winners), 2001 (winners)
*Eisenhower Trophy (representing England): 1998 (winners), 2000
*St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1998, 2000 (winners)
*Jacques Leglise Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1995 (winners)

Professional

*Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2004 (winners), 2006 (winners)
*WGC-World Cup (representing England): 2004 (winners), 2005

References

External links

* [http://www.pgatour.com/players/02/39/83 Profile on the PGA Tour's official site]
* [http://www.europeantour.com/publish.sps?pageid=127&pagegid=%7BAB0336D2%2DD3C9%2D469B%2DBCB6%2DBFD443B52A34%7D&playerId=30357 Profile on the European Tour's official site]
* [http://www.officialworldgolfranking.com/players/bio.sps?ID=4163 Results for the last two years from the Official World Golf Rankings site]