Leading up to the British Open, we'll offer up our thoughts on some of the game's best players and their chances to win at Royal Lytham and St Annes. We continue with the World No. 1. In case you've forgotten, that would be ...
Luke Donald
His 2012 so far: Quite good, from a certain perspective. Ten events, four top-10 finishes, a win at the Transitions ... seems like a good run, right? Yeah, except that he finished T32 at Augusta and didn't even make the cut at The Olympic. Yeah, we kind of expect more from our No. 1 golfers than that.
His record at the British Open: Eleven events, six missed cuts. Best finish? A T5 in 2009. Yeah ... let's move on.
Why he could win: Donald ranks among the best on Tour in many major categories — 15th in scoring average, 10th in the all-important sand save percentage &mdash. Plus, it's not like he got to the No. 1 ranking because one of the world's best completely imploded and several other guys dropped the silver platter upon which the top spot was handed to them. That'd be silly.
Why he could fall short: The monkey on Donald's back grows with every major. It's not yet silverback-sized like the one on Lee Westwood's back, but still ... every major that passes without a win leads to more questions. Plus, it's the British Open, and the weather could devour anyone.
Our take: Not going to happen. Both the U.S. and British Opens don't seem to favor Donald's game. His best bet for a major this year comes a few weeks from now at the PGA Championship.
And you? What's your take on Luke Donald's chances this week?
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