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Why Luke Donald lacks American acclaim
A lack of PGA Tour victories means Donald remains under-valued
Even after a year in which he became world No 1 and won both the PGA Tour Money list and the Race to Dubai, there are still those who question whether Luke Donald has been the player of the year.
Certainly he did not produce the performance of the year, that came from Rory McIlroy at the US Open.
But if there has been a better male golfer over the course of 2011 then I have certainly yet to see him. (Though if you removed the filter of gender, Yani Tseng would take some beating.)
The reason, I think, why our American counterparts remain less than totally convinced by Donald is this: he has been playing full time on the PGA Tour for 10 years and has still never won a top-class strokeplay event.
By which I mean, one played against a full-strength PGA Tour field. Not necessarily a Major, or even a WGC, but a Wachovia, a Byron Nelson, a Players, a Nissan Open or Fed-Ex Cup play-off.
Until the Englishman puts that right, he will never be accorded the respect he probably deserves.
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