‘Cool Hand’ Luke Donald is unconcerned he could this week lose his 55-week long stay at World No. 1 to Tiger Woods.
Woods tees-up in this week’s $US 8.5m WGC – Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio looking to capture the event for an eighth occasion in 13 appearances.
And in those appearances Woods has finished outside the top-four on just two occasions and they were the past two years.
The Star-Spangled American has won three times this season but will need to again reign supreme on the Firestone Country Club course if he’s to go back to World No. 1, and for Donald to finish outside the top three.
Luke Donald in a comfortable mood as Tiger Woods looks to regain his No. 1 World Ranking. (Photo - Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)
And while Donald fought off Rory McIlroy to stay Number One in the world, Donald is not about to lose sleep seeing off Woods.
“I don’t see any difference between Rory and Tiger, and besides you can’t control what other guys are going to do,” said Donald.
“I’m certainly very proud of my No. 1 ranking and how long I’ve kept it. That shows how consistent I’ve been over the last couple of years, and I’ll continue to try and work on accomplishing a lot more in this game.
“Tiger’s certainly starting to play a lot better. He’s won three times this year, and as a result he’s climbed up the World Rankings.
“It’s good to have guys like that chomping at your heels. They push you to work harder, to challenge yourself to try and get to that next level.”
And with three top-10 finishes from his seven visits to Firestone, the Englishman has reason to be confident, especially after an impressive display 12 months ago that saw him finish second to Open runner-up Adam Scott.
“I’m excited – it’s obviously a good run of events coming up, and hopefully build off a very solid Open Championship for me,” said Donald.
“I felt like I controlled the ball very well, so I’m excited about continuing that form, and I’ve always enjoyed playing this week.
“It’s a golf course you really have to drive it well, do everything really well here. It’s a tough test, and it will be a great preparation for next week.
“I’ve always seemed to play solidly here and be somewhat in the mix. I think it is a course that suits my game – you have to really plot your way around this place, be very consistent tee to green, and obviously be good on the greens.
“It’s a place I’ve been relatively successful but haven’t quite got to the point of winning. So hopefully that will change this year.”
Donald is among 28 Europeans in the elite field of just 78 teeing up this week in Ohio.
