Born: December 7, 1977
Birthplace: Hempstead, England
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Turned Pro: 2001
Bio
When you look at the growing list of rising stars on the PGA Tour, you are bound to come across Luke Donald's name. At the age of 27, Donald is ranked among the top 20 golfers in the world. An impressive 2004 season saw him win twice on the European Tour and finish in the top ten four times on the PGA Tour, as well as making his first appearance in the Ryder Cup.
Luke grew up in England where his father introduced him to the game. He played a lot of golf with his older brother Christian who is now his full-time caddie.
Eventually Donald would cross the ocean to the U.S. and play his college golf at Northwestern University. Donald had an outstanding college career where, in 1999, he would win the Fred Haskins Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top collegiate golfer while winning the NCAA individual title. He was a two-time Big Ten Individual Champion and a three-time First-Team All-American.
After graduating in 2001, Donald would head to the PGA Q-School where he would make it through all three stages in his first attempt. 2002 would bring more success as Donald won the Southern Farm Bureau Classic for his first professional win. He would earn over $1 million in 2002 and be named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
Since then Donald has vaulted into the top 20 World Rankings and represented his country at both the Ryder Cup and WGC-World Cup. Along the way he has firmly entrenched himself as one of golf's bright, young stars.
Quick Facts
PGA TOUR Victories
(1) 2002 Southern Farm Bureau Classic.
International Victories
(2): 2004 Scandinavian Masters [Eur], Omega European Masters [Eur].
Equipment
Although nothing in Luke Donald's stats immediately jumps out at you, it should be pointed out that he is a very consistent player. The Englishman makes very few bogeys and has already collected two top-ten finishes in 2005.
The driver of choice for Luke is a Titleist 983K with 9.5 degrees of loft and a UST Accra graphite shaft. The driver and all other clubs have Golf Pride Cord grips on them.
Donald is one of the growing number of players to carry a Sonartec club. Considering these guys don't really pay anybody except Nick Price, they have an impressive tour presence. Donald uses a Sonartec SS 1.5 3-wood. The SS 1.5 is a lower profile head that is slightly longer from heel-to-toe and has a low center of gravity.
He also carries one hybrid club in the bag, the Mizuno Fli-Hi CLK 17-degree. The CLK has a slight offset and a carbon-crown with a low center of gravity.
For his irons Donald uses the Mizuno MP-33 blades from 3-PW. He uses the True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts in these clubs. Rumor has it that Donald has been experimenting with the new Mizuno MP-32 Cut Muscle irons but as of the 2005 Accenture Match Play he was still using his trusty MP-33's.
He also carries two Mizuno wedges, the MP Series chrome wedge in a 54-degree sand-wedge and a 60-degree lob-wedge.
Donald uses a Scotty Cameron prototype putter from Titleist. The putter is a very traditional Newport/Ping Anser style head but it has a flat black finish.
David plays the lower spinning ProV1X golf ball.