PGA: Did Luke Donald Have One of Best Seasons in Golf History?

Luke Donald was the first player ever to win the money title on both the PGA and European Tour in the same year. 

He played at a high level throughout the entire year.  Donald won the WGC-Accenture Match Play event in February and clinched the PGA money title by winning the Children's Miracle Hospitals Network tournament in October, as well as, a couple of other wins on the European Tour in between. 

He finished in the top 10 in 20 of 26 events that he entered worldwide in 2011 and amassed total earnings of over $14 million. 

He has held the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking since overtaking Martin Kaymer in June.  Only Tiger Woods and Greg Norman have held the No.1 ranking longer than Luke Donald.

Also in 2011, Donald had to deal with the death of his father just a few days before the birth of his second child.

Luke has had a phenomenal year but how does it stack up against other golfers who have made golf history?

Bobby Jones Won the Grand Slam

From 1923 to 1930 Robert Tyre (Bobby) Jones Jr. won 13 major championships and in 1930 captured the “Grand Slam” of golf.  He played in his first U. S. Open at the tender age of 14 and made it through the third round before being eliminated.

Also in 1930 Jones was a member of and captained the U. S. Walker Cup which defeated the GB&I team just prior to his wins in the British Amateur and British Open.

Since Jones played strictly as an amateur the major championships consisted of the U. S. Amateur, U. S. Open, British Amateur, and British Open.  

Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods both won three major championships in one calendar year, but no golfer has ever been able to match Jones’ record of winning four major titles in the same year.

The fact that Bobby was a full-time attorney in the Atlanta area and only played competitive golf on a part-time basis makes this extraordinary feat even more amazing.

Byron Nelson Won 11 Events Straight in 1945

The gentleman golfer from Texas, Byron Nelson recorded 11 straight wins in 1945 on the PGA Tour.  Lord Byron joined the PGA Tour in 1935 and only played competitively for 11 years retiring to his ranch in 1946.

Nelson became one of the first golfers to successfully switch from hickory shaft to steel shaft golf clubs.  He perfected the modern day swing which uses more leg drive to gain club head speed. 

In 1945 the PGA Tour consisted of 35 tournaments and both Ben Hogan and Sam Snead won more than once. 

Nelson completely dominated the Tour in 1945, however.  He won a total of 18 events finished second seven more times and won 11 tournaments in a row. 

Both Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer have recognized Nelson’s record of 11 straight wins as one that will never be broken.

Ben Hogan Won 5 of the 6 Events He Entered in 1953

Over his career Ben Hogan won 63 PGA titles including nine major championships.  He spent three years in the army during WWII and survived a near-fatal car crash in 1949 that drastically affected his ability to walk but still played competitively until his retirement in 1971. 

In 1953 he put together one of the most amazing golf seasons ever witnessed.  He only entered six events but won five of them. 

He completed the “Hogan Slam” by winning the Masters, U. S. Open, and British Open.  He probably would have won the 1953 PGA Championship too but the dates conflicted with the British Open in early July and even Ben Hogan could not be on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean at once.

Hogan, the “Best Ball Striker Ever”, also had a historic year in 1948 when he won the U. S. Open, the PGA Championship and eight other PGA tournaments. 

Jack Nicklaus Had Several Great Years in the 60's & 70's

Jack Nicklaus had a number of great years on the PGA Tour.  He won multiple majors in 1963, 1966, 1972 and 1980 and won the PGA money title eight different years. 

The "Golden Bear" won a total of 18 majors in his 25 years on tour, was runner-up 19 times and third another nine times.  He was the PGA Player of the Year on five different occasions and is second all-time with 73 tour wins.

Nicklaus always played a limited schedule and preferred to concentrate only on winning major championships. 

An argument can be made that Jack has 20 majors.  He also won the 1959 and 1961 U. S. Amateurs.

Greg Norman Was the Best in 1986

Greg Norman only won two major championship titles over his illustrious career but he was the No. 1 ranked player in the world for 331 weeks in the 1980’s.  Only Tiger Woods has held the No. 1 ranking longer than Greg Norman. 

His best year had to be 1986 when he is tagged with the dubious honor of accomplishing the “Norman Slam”.

Norman held the lead on Saturday night and was in the final pairing in all four majors in 1986.  The “Shark” only managed to win the British Open outright that year but was runner-up in both the Masters and PGA Championship.

Annika Had Great Years in 2001 and 2002

From 1995-2005 Annika Sorenstam won LPGA Player of the Year eight times.  She won multiple major titles in 2003 and 2005 amassing a total of 10 major championships for her career. 

In  2001 Annika racked up eight LPGA wins, became the only female golfer to shoot a 59 in competition and was the first LPGA player to cross the $2 million mark in single-season earnings.  She set or tied 30 LPGA records en route to winning the Vare Trophy and her fourth LPGA Player of the Year and Money List titles.

Annika continued her dominance on the LPGA in 2002 as she joined Mickey Wright as the only players to win 11 LPGA tournaments in one season.  She earned her fifth LPGA Player of the Year title and Vare Trophy. Sorenstam won the Kraft Nabisco Championship, a women’s major.  She added two other wins outside the U. S. which gave her a total of 13 wins in 25 starts worldwide.

Annika had several great years.  It is difficult to choose which was the best.

Tiger Woods Won 9 Events in 2000

In 2000, Tiger Woods completely dominated the golf world.  He led the U. S. Open at Pebble Beach by 10 shots going into Sunday’s final round and eventually went on to win by 15 shots. 

At St. Andrews in the British Open he was -19 under par set the all-time record of score under par in a major and won by eight shots. 

In the 2000 PGA Championship Woods played the last twelve holes of regulation seven under par to tie Bob May.  He won a three-hole playoff to join Hogan as the only other player to win three professional majors in one season.

Three weeks later, he won his third straight start on the PGA Tour at the Bell Canadian Open, becoming only the second man after Lee Trevino in 1971 to win the Triple Crown of Golf (U.S., British, and Canadian Opens) in one year. By the end of Woods' 2000 campaign, he had won three consecutive majors, nine PGA Tour events, and had set or tied 27 Tour records.

Of the 20 events he entered in 2000, he finished in the top three 14 times. His adjusted scoring average of 67.79 and his actual scoring average of 68.17 were the lowest in PGA Tour history.

He went on to win the 2001 Masters to complete the "Tiger Slam".

Yani Tseng Had 12 Worldwide Wins in 2011

Yani Tseng has come to dominate women’s golf worldwide.  In 2011 she won two major championships and at just 22 years of age became youngest player ever, man or woman, to win five majors championships.

In January 2011 she became the No. 1 player on the Rolex World Golf Rankings. 

Yani won seven titles on the LPGA Tour in 2011 and had 14 top 10s in 22 events.  She has added another five wins worldwide for a total of 12 wins for the year.

Tseng is still very young and her best golf may still lay ahead.

Donald Is First to Win the Money Titles on the PGA & Euro Tours in the Same Year

Luke Donald accomplished a historic feat by winning both the PGA and European Money List titles in the same year.  It involved extremely consistent play over several continents and logging up a lot of frequent flier miles. 

He overcame the death of his father and welcomed a new baby girl into his family.

Where does his 2011 rank among some of the other great years put in by legendary golfers? 

Ultimately time will tell but until he captures a major title or two he will still be known only as a very steady and consistent player who wins a lot of cash.