Luke Donald Set to Strike at the Players Championship

This will prove to be an interesting week at the Players Championship with the world-ranked No. 1 player not in the field.

Tiger Woods will be there, but he is ranked eighth this week. It is Lee Westwood who will not be competing.

Westwood will be taking in a soccer game at Wembley Stadium with his son instead of taking on the stadium course. Westwood has cited PGA scheduling restrictions as the reason he will not be playing this week.

As a non-member of the PGA Tour, Westwood is only allowed to participate in 10 PGA events per season.

There are exceptions to this rule though and TPC is one of them. The PGA Tour announced last year that the Players Championship would not count against a player. So, Westwood's decision is clearly his own.

Rory McIlroy will also be absent at TPC. McIlroy is not a member of the PGA Tour and is also limited in the number of events he can play on the PGA Tour.

With two of the Europe's best out of the picture this week, the question of who will lead the European charge is answered by Luke Donald.

The Players Championship has always been a course for the sharp shooter. Those who play well with irons are favored. Donald is one of those players.

Luke Donald is currently ranked third in the world and has finished in the top-10 within the last six events he has competed in.

"I'm feeling good," said Donald on Tuesday. "Winning at Tucson was a big step for me". Luke feels he let his chances at Hilton Head slip a bit, but he is very optimistic on his chances of being in contention this week.

Whether pink pants make an appearance on Sunday or not, Luke Donald will more than likely make everyone take notice.