Top two prepare for fun rather than fight

IF LUKE Donald and Lee Westwood were boxers they would have started saying horrible things about each other by now and fight fans would be getting ready to rumble. But that is not the way it is in golf.

On the eve of the US Open and the latest head-to-head duel between the world's current top two players, Westwood said: "It'll be a nice way to start off the tournament."

Donald added: "It will be fun for us and hopefully fun for the fans." Not exactly fighting talk, but neither sees any mileage in trying to turn their Congressional clash into anything more than it is. Neither man wants bragging rights but a first major title.

And if that means they end up in a shoot-out as they did at Wentworth three weeks ago, when Donald took the number one spot with a birdie to a double bogey on the first extra hole, then all well and good.

The BMW PGA Championship was 33-year-old Donald's second victory of a season in which he has enjoyed ten successive top-ten finishes. But in the majors he has gone 31 tournaments and counting without a win. "This is the best I've been playing obviously," Donald said. "I've reached the pinnacle of the rankings and my play has been very consistent.

"I have a lot of confidence. There's going to be more expectation and that brings a little more pressure, but I've been trying to concentrate on doing the same things every week whether I was ranked No 1 or 50.

Westwood, meanwhile, enters his 53rd major hoping this is where all those near misses - three thirds and then last year two seconds - are put behind him. Prior to Sunday's 11th place in Memphis, where he was the defending champion, his last three strokeplay finishes were first, first and second.

They are unquestionably the two hottest players in the game right now, but they need no reminding that majors are when it really counts.

Donald is looking ahead to two rounds with not only Westwood, but also third-ranked Martin Kaymer and the German's new caddie - Donald's brother Christian. "It's good to see that my brother got picked up again by one of the great players," Donald said.

With Phil Mickelson not teeing off until more than five hours later - 1.35pm local time compared to 8.06am - the star European trio are the main early attraction.

Or at least they should be. The home fans have been starved of success lately. For the first time since 1994 the four majors are in the hands of non-Americans and if it now becomes five in a row without a US player winning that will be unprecedented since The Masters began in 1934.

The biggest question marks over Donald remains his lack of length off the tee and his record in the event.He ranks 153rd on the PGA Tour with an average of just under 280 yards, while in Europe he is listed as being even shorter - by almost 20 yards.

At 7,574 yards, Congressional's length is second only to Torrey Pines in US Open history, but Donald says: "I think I'm long enough. Most of the courses we play are close to this, so I'm not concerned about that."

As for a record which shows not a single top-ten finish in seven previous attempts, he states: "My stats the last few years have not been great. But the biggest bonus I got out of Muirfield (the Memorial tournament two weeks ago] was that I led the stats in driving accuracy and was top ten in greens hit too."