England's Luke Donald Is New King of Golf

Bob Hope left England when he found out he could not become the king.

Luke Donald left England to play collegiate golf at Northwestern University in America.

As a member of the U.S. PGA TOUR, Donald has consistently played against and outperformed the best golfers in the world.

At the European Tour's flagship event outside London, Donald beat fellow countryman and World No. 1 Lee Westwood to become No. 1 himself—the third new king of golf in the last seven months.

Donald won the WGC Accenture Match Play in late February and since that time has finished in the Top 10 in all six events he has played in the United States, including a playoff loss to Brandt Snedeker at the Heritage.

Donald put his performance and the historic event in perspective:

"To obviously come through in these circumstances in one of the biggest tournaments in the world, going head-to-head with Lee, is pretty special. It doesn't get much better. I'm not sure if there will ever be a case where No. 1 and No. 2 in the world are playing off for the tournament, but also a chance for the No. 1 ranking in the world."

Westwood knocked Tiger Woods off the World No. 1 perch on October 31, after 281 consecutive weeks there.

Kaymer's consolation prize for losing to Donald in the final of the WGC Match Play was ascending to the No. 1 slot on February 27.

Westwood regained the World No. 1 slot eight weeks later and held it for the last month before an unfortunate break on the playoff hole with Donald.

His pitch shot hit on the green 12 feet, directly past the hole and spun back to the left following a slope in the green and went into the water on the Ernie Els redesigned 18 hole.

"I felt a little bit bad for Lee," Donald commented after the win. "Obviously (he) hit a decent shot there on 18, just had a little bit too much spin. And, you know, I was happy to walk away with the win."

"A unique history I think has been made, and glad to be a part of it."

How will being the World's No. 1 golfer impact Donald, who has now three U.S. PGA TOUR and now four European Tour victories, but no majors?

"I've always said, winning is always at the top of the list. It's always the top of the goals. I'm not going to lie; being No. 1 feels fantastic. It's a great honor, a great achievement to come here and win with all of these people playing, the top three in the world, top six out of seven, all of the Ryder Cuppers, all of the four major champions, and to beat them in stroke play feels pretty good.

"I've had a great run, and you know, it pays to be consistent, and it obviously pays in the World Rankings."

Donald, with his classic swing, is one of the game's great ball strikers, but it was his recovery shots in the fashion of Seve Ballesteros this week that enabled the victory.

For a week that started with an Ole Seve charity pro-am at Wentworth, it was fitting that two European Tour players, Old World No. 1 Westwood was beaten by New World No. 1 Donald.

Seve was a former World No. 1 for 61 weeks.

Donald does not want to rest on his laurels.

"It's obviously a special accomplishment, something that I'll remember forever. As I said before, it's something that will be a great story when I'm an old man telling my grandkids that I was once the best player in the world at golf. It's a little surreal. It's hard to believe in a certain way. You keep thinking that you have the ability and the talent, but you never quite really know.

"The goal for me is to always continue to focus on the processes of getting better, and just because I have reached the pinnacle of the World Rankings doesn't mean my work is done. I have a lot more to accomplish, hopefully many more victories in me.

"This will be a good battle going forward. I'm sure Lee will be trying his best to get it back."

Donald's goal at the start of the year was to contend in all four majors.

With a pair of 69's on the weekend, Donald finished T4 behind Schwartzel's four birdie sprint to the finish at the Masters.

The U.S. Open at Congressional CC is only three weeks away.

Bob Hope never could be king, but he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1983 for his lifetime contributions to the game of golf.

Now that Donald is king of golf, perhaps this will be the stepping stone to the Hall of Fame to join Seve and Hope.

All that is needed to be placed on the ballot is two Major and/or PLAYERS victories, or 10 U.S. PGA TOUR wins.

Luke Donald, the new World No. 1 golfer—congratulations!

Please note that the quote, "I left England when I found out that I could not become the King," is from Bob Hope's "Shanks for the Memories" exhibit at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer as well as a Research and Broadcast Assistant for the major golf broadcast companies. He spends time on all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Nationwide and LPGA Tours. 

Reistetter resides within two miles of the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. 

A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame and THE PLAYERS while pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him at [e-mail]