Luke Donald
Luke Campbell Donald is an English professional golfer and former world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of the European Tour.
Donald had an outstanding year in 2011, winning several tournaments and awards. He won the PGA Tour money list and European Race to Dubai to complete a historic double, becoming the first player to win both money lists on the PGA and European Tours in the same year. He was named the PGA Player of the Year and the European Tour Golfer of the Year. He also became the first Englishman to win the PGA Tour Player of the Year award, the PGA Tour's Vardon Trophy and the Mark H. McCormack Award for the most weeks at number one during a calendar year. He was later awarded honorary life membership of the European Tour for his achievements in 2011.
In May 2011, Donald became the number one golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking after winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club. He held the number one position for 40 weeks between May 2011 and March 2012 before Rory McIlroy briefly took over as world number one. The pair then exchanged the number one position a further four times in the following two months. On 27 May 2012, Donald regained the world number one ranking after successfully defending his BMW PGA Championship title. He held the number one position for a further 10 weeks before McIlroy displaced him again. Donald has spent a cumulative total of 56 weeks as the World Number One and has spent over 200 weeks in the top-10. He was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to golf. Donald has had eight top-10 finishes in major championships, with two third-place finishes. He is one of two golfers to achieve the world number one ranking without winning a major, the other being fellow Englishman Lee Westwood.
Donald captained the European team to victory in the 2023 Ryder Cup and led the team to victory again in the 2025 Ryder Cup over the United States at Bethpage Black Golf Course in New York City, USA. This in turn made him one of only two Ryder Cup Captains, the other being Tony Jacklin, to win the Ryder Cup both home and away.
Early life
Although his father was from Stranraer in southwest Scotland, Donald was born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. He has described himself as "half Scottish". Nevertheless, Donald plays golf as an Englishman and represented England in golf's World Cup. Donald attended the Rudolf Steiner School in Kings Langley and later the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe. He played junior golf at Hazlemere and Beaconsfield Golf Clubs. He was twice the club champion of Beaconsfield, first winning the championship at the age of 15.Amateur career
Coming from England, he joined College Prospects of America, a service also employed by golfer Martin Laird, which 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. Goodwin recruited Donald to join his golf squad, but Donald was not admitted to the university.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. His golf coach at Northwestern University was Pat Goss. He won the individual NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships men's title in 1999, beating the scoring record formerly held by Tiger Woods. He and David Lipsky share the Northwestern University school record of 202, for a 54-hole tournament score. Luke also became the first amateur to win the Chicago Open in 2000.
Professional career
2001–2010
Donald turned professional in 2001, making his debut as a professional at the Reno-Tahoe Open on the PGA Tour courtesy of a sponsors exemption. He missed the cut in his debut, but managed to earn invitations into six more events on the PGA Tour in 2001, making three cuts. He earned his tour card for the 2002 season by finishing T23rd at the Q-School.In 2002, Donald made his first start as a member of the PGA Tour at the Sony Open in Hawaii, finishing tied for 13th. Donald won his maiden title on the PGA Tour in November 2002 at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic. The tournament was reduced to 54 holes after significant rain meant unplayable conditions and washed out play on the Sunday. He was two strokes back at the halfway stage, but birdied holes 15, 16 and 17 on Saturday for a 67 and a one stroke advantage over South African Deane Pappas. After the final round was cancelled, Donald was crowned champion on Monday morning. With this success he became only the 11th rookie in PGA Tour history to earn more than $1 million in his first season.
The 2003 season was less successful for Donald. He played solidly and made 17 of 25 cuts on the PGA Tour, but only two of these were top-10 finishes. He did however finish in a tie for third at the Scandinavian Masters on the European Tour in August 2003. In 2004, Donald 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. In 2005, Donald made his debut at the Masters Tournament and finished tied for 3rd place. He described his debut at Augusta National as "a great performance – I am very happy with that". Donald rose in the World Rankings from 130th at the turn of the year to 13th in the world in April 2005 after his top-3 finish at the Masters. Later in the year 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 Old Course at St Andrews.
In March 2006, Donald won his second U.S. PGA Tour event at the Honda Classic in Florida, a victory which moved him into the top ten of the World Rankings for the first time. Donald finished tied for 3rd at the 2006 PGA Championship. To date, his third-place finishes at the 2006 PGA Championship and at the 2005 Masters are his best performances in major championships. In September 2006, Donald won his singles match 2&1 against Chad Campbell in the 36th Ryder Cup to help ensure Europe won the trophy for the third successive time. Donald also won in the foursomes twice, with Sergio García. Donald took part in three matches in the Ryder Cup that year, winning all of them.
In 2008, Donald sustained an injury to his left wrist at the U.S. Open that forced him to withdraw from the tournament during the final round. His injury resulted in him having a six-month lay-off from competitive golf which meant that he missed out on playing in the Open Championship, the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup that year. In May 2010, Donald won the Madrid Masters by one shot for his first title in four years. In October 2010, Donald was a member of the European team that won the 2010 Ryder Cup with a one-point win over the USA.
2011: WGC-Accenture Match Play win
Donald's biggest win to date came in February 2011 at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship when he defeated the German Martin Kaymer 3&2 in the final. During the final, Donald built a three-up lead over the first five holes. However, Kaymer pegged him back and won three of the next four holes meaning the match was all square entering the back-nine. Donald was able to regain his lead with two successive wins at holes 11 and 12, then followed that up with a birdie on hole 15 to re-build his three-up lead with three holes to play. Both players then parred the par-3 16th, ensuring Donald's first World Golf Championship title and the biggest victory of his career.Donald started the tournament off in fine fashion with a 6&5 win over American Charley Hoffman. In the second round Donald faced fellow Ryder Cup teammate Edoardo Molinari. It was a tight match that went down to the 17th, when Donald holed a birdie putt to seal a 2&1 victory. His third round opponent was another Italian, this time the young 17-year-old Matteo Manassero, who Donald beat 3&2. In the quarter-final on Saturday, he faced American Ryan Moore and won at the 14th with a 5&4 victory. In his semi-final match against Matt Kuchar, Donald was in magnificent form winning 6&5, having found himself seven-up through the first 10 holes.
Continued 2011 season form and World No.1
Donald continued his early-season form at The Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links when he held the lead going into final round with Jim Furyk. With the pressure of knowing that he would become the new world number 1, he shot a one under par 70 to finish tied with American Brandt Snedeker, who fired a 64. In the playoff, both players birdied the first hole and then parred the second hole. However, at the third extra hole, Donald made bogey when his chip ran narrowly past the outside edge of the hole, giving Snedeker the win with a par.Donald continued his excellent match play form in May, reaching the final of the Volvo World Match Play Championship, which he eventually lost 2&1 to fellow Englishman Ian Poulter. He knew that had he had won this tournament he would have gone to world number one for the first time in his career. Donald had previously beaten Ross Fisher, Charl Schwartzel and Martin Kaymer to reach the final; however, he did not add the Volvo World Match Play title to his WGC-Accenture Match Play title he won earlier in the year.
In May 2011, Donald beat Lee Westwood in a playoff to win the European Tour's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club. This was Donald's fifth victory on the European Tour and in the process achieving one of the game's highest accolades of becoming the world number one. Westwood had entered the tournament as number one in the world and the sudden-death playoff at the end of 72 holes provided a subplot of world numbers one and two contesting for the championship. On the first playoff hole, the par-five 18th, after both laying up with their second shots, Donald played a pitch for his third shot to leave himself a putt of no more than six feet for birdie. Westwood's approach shot to the green spun back into the water hazard. Westwood chipped out from the drop zone and made double bogey, leaving Donald to hole out for a birdie to win the title and become the new world number one. Donald was the third Englishman to hold the number one position in the Official World Golf Ranking since its inception in 1986.
In July 2011, Donald won his first tournament as the world number one at the Barclays Scottish Open, which was held the week before the 2011 Open Championship. He shot a bogey-free −9 on Sunday to finish four strokes clear of Sweden's Fredrik Andersson Hed.
Donald finished second at the 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, four shots behind winner Adam Scott. He won his fourth title of the year at the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic in October 2011. With the win, he secured the PGA Tour money list title, the Vardon Trophy, the Byron Nelson Award, and the PGA Player of the Year. He later was voted the PGA Tour Player of the Year.
In December, Donald finished third at the Dubai World Championship and therefore secured the European Tour Race to Dubai for 2011, becoming the first golfer to officially claim top rank on both PGA Tour and European Tour money lists in the same year.