Donald shows early promise but Englishman's elusive talent can't stay the course

Published on Saturday 10 May 2008 22:30

BY DEFINITION, early starters in the third round of any golf tournament haven't played to their potential over the first 36 holes. At least one part of their finely tuned games has been at least a little on the blink, a consequence that deprives them of the long lie-in afforded those in the leading pack.

Maybe that's why Luke Donald was looking a bit sleepy yesterday morning. The 30-year-old Englishman (although his father hails from Stranraer) hasn't put himself in contention too often this season and his sixth appearance in this Players Championship has so far proved to be a continuation of the erratic form that has produced two top-three finishes and three missed cuts in his eight PGA Tour appearances.

Three over par for two circuits of the demanding Stadium course here at Sawgrass, Donald, runner-up here three years ago, made a promising start, reaching the turn in 35, one under par, then picking up a third birdie of the day at the long 11th. Thereafter, however, things began to unravel. A "chunked" second shot to the 12th led to a dropped shot, before a disastrous four putts from the fringe three holes later led to a double bogey. Then a "lack of commitment" saw the two-time Ryder Cup player in the water at the dreaded "island hole" 17th en route to what was eventually a "good" bogey. All of which added up to 74 and, no doubt, another early start in round four.

"That was a bit of everything," he shrugged. "But if you're a little bit off around here you can make some numbers. My problem is that I'm not hitting enough fairways or greens, which has been the case most of this season."

In the midst of working on a clubface that tended to get a bit closed on the backswing, then laid off at the top, Donald, who revealed that the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond is not part of his 2008 schedule, has been losing too many shots to the right, a consequence of not yet fully eliminating the formerly compensatory opening of the clubface on the way down. For a man whose game is built around consistency – not unkindly, Tiger Woods once labelled him a "plodder" – it has been a frustrating few months.

"It has been hard to hit some shots I'm not used to hitting," he continued. "I'm working hard to get better and more consistent, but I must admit that I like the sound of plodding at the moment. To do that would be fun."

Just to show that low scores were out there for those able to survive Sawgrass's fearsome water-strewn finish – "numbers can be shot," said American Jerry Kelly after a 70 – as many as 12 of the first 36 starters managed to break par around the 7,215-yard course that was once a Florida swamp. One of those was the only Scot(t) in the field, Adam. That's called clutching at straws, folks.