donald lucky not to upset woosnam
Luke Donald - has history with Woosie.
By Phil Casey, PA Sport
If Luke Donald is missing from the first day's action at the Ryder Cup later this month, he will only have himself to blame. Playing alongside European captain Ian Woosnam in the BMW International in Munich - the final qualifying event - Donald risked incurring the wrath of the Welshman during the second round. "I stepped on his line on the ninth green and thought he might drop me for Friday for that," joked Donald. "But thankfully he made the putt!" Woosnam specifically requested to play with Donald at Nord-Eichenried to try to get to know the young Englishman, who has spent most of his career in the United States after a hugely successful amateur career while based at Chicago's Northwestern University. Donald still has an apartment in the city and spends the majority of the season in America, but made a concerted effort to qualify for the team in 2004, eventually doing more than enough to persuade captain Bernhard Langer to give him a wild card. The 28-year-old won the Scandinavian Masters and produced a string of impressive displays before justifying Langer's decision by winning in Switzerland the week after the team was announced. He went on to win two and a half points in the record victory at Oakland Hills, winning both of his matches with good friend Sergio Garcia, and could well team up with the Spanish star again at the K Club. "Woosie texted a few of us asking who we would like to play with," Donald added. "It's no big secret that the only three I have played with are Sergio, David Howell and Paul Casey. I'm not keen on playing with someone I've never played with that much. It's harder." The good news for Woosnam is that Donald has enjoyed success with all three of those players. He partnered Casey to Walker Cup success in 1999 and World Cup glory in Seville in 2004, and was second in the defence of the World Cup with Howell the following year in Portugal. "I chatted with Woosie a little bit in Munich, going through a few things," added Donald, who won seven points out of eight in his two Walker Cup appearances. "Not pairings but logistical stuff. It gave him a chance to look at my game more than anything and it never hurts to show decent form. "I'm looking forward to the match obviously. The last two weeks have been very positive and meant I didn't have to sweat the final qualifying event. "I'll visit the K Club before the Ryder Cup because I've not played it before. But I'm not too worried about that because I only saw Oakland Hills for the first time the week of the match." Those "last two weeks" before Munich were, of course, the US PGA championship and Bridgestone Invitational, where Donald finished third and eighth to seal his place in the team. At Medinah he shared the lead with Tiger Woods going into the final round only to struggle to a closing 74, failing to register a single birdie as Woods cruised to yet another major title. It was, however, the first time Donald had been in genuine contention for a major, his third place on his Masters debut in 2005 courtesy of two rounds of 69 over the weekend which still left him a distant seven shots adrift of Woods and Chris DiMarco. There is no doubt he will have learnt a great deal from playing alongside Woods in Chicago, a player he intends to challenge for the world number one spot in the coming years. But first is the small matter of retaining the Ryder Cup against Woods and the Americans in Dublin, and Donald cannot wait. "Last time was fantastic and it certainly leaves you wanting to experience more," he added. "There's bound to be a great atmosphere in Ireland and we are looking forward to being a part of it."
