Luke Donald

Luke Campbell Donald MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former world number one.

He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of the European Tour.

Donald subsequently took a golf scholarship at Northwestern University in 1997, where he studied art theory and practice, and became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

His golf coach at Northwestern University was Pat Goss.

He won the individual NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships men's title in 1999, beating the scoring record formerly held by Tiger Woods.

He and David Lipsky share the Northwestern University school record of 202, for a 54-hole tournament score.

Luke also became the first amateur to win the Chicago Open in 2000.

Donald turned professional in 2001, making his debut as a professional at the Reno-Tahoe Open on the PGA Tour courtesy of a sponsors exemption.

He missed the cut in his debut, but managed to earn invitations into six more events on the PGA Tour in 2001, making three cuts.

He earned his tour card for the 2002 season by finishing T23rd at the Q-School.

In 2002, Donald made his first start as a member of the PGA Tour at the Sony Open in Hawaii, finishing tied for 13th.

Donald won his maiden title on the PGA Tour in November 2002 at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.

The tournament was reduced to 54 holes after significant rain meant unplayable conditions and Washed Out play on the Sunday.

He was two strokes back at the halfway stage, but birdied holes 15, 16 and 17 on Saturday for a 67 and a one stroke advantage over South African Deane Pappas.

After the final round was cancelled, Donald was crowned champion on Monday morning.

Donald had an outstanding year in 2011, winning several tournaments and awards.

He won the PGA Tour money list and European Race to Dubai to complete a historic double, becoming the first player to win both money lists on the PGA and European Tours in the same year.

He was named the PGA Player of the Year and the European Tour Golfer of the Year.

He also became the first Englishman to win the PGA Tour Player of the Year award, the PGA Tour's Vardon Trophy and the Mark H. McCormack Award for the most weeks at number one during a calendar year.

He was later awarded honorary life membership of the European Tour for his achievements in 2011.

In May 2011, Donald became the number one golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking after winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club.

He held the number one position for 40 weeks between May 2011 and March 2012 before Rory McIlroy briefly took over as world number one.

The pair then exchanged the number one position a further four times in the following two months.

On 27 May 2012, Donald regained the world number one ranking after successfully defending his BMW PGA Championship title.

He held the number one position for a further 10 weeks before McIlroy displaced him again.

Donald has spent a cumulative total of 56 weeks as the World Number One and has spent over 200 weeks in the top-10.

He was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to golf.

Donald has had eight top-10 finishes in major championships, with two third-place finishes.

He is one of two golfers to achieve the world number one ranking without winning a major, the other being fellow Englishman Lee Westwood.

Donald captained the European team in the 2023 Ryder Cup side to a 161⁄2-111⁄2 victory over the United States at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

Although his father was from Stranraer in southwest Scotland, Donald was born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England.

He has described himself as "half Scottish".

Nevertheless, Donald plays golf as an Englishman and represented England in golf's World Cup.

Donald attended the Rudolf Steiner School in Kings Langley and later the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe.

He played junior golf at Hazlemere and Beaconsfield Golf Clubs.

He was twice the club champion of Beaconsfield, first winning the championship at the age of 15.

Donald's brother Christian also played junior golf and caddied for Luke.

Coming from England, he joined College Prospects of America, a service also employed by golfer Martin Laird, which created a résumé for him and sent it to all the major colleges and universities in the United States.

Several coaches responded, including Wally Goodwin at Stanford University.

Goodwin recruited Donald to join his golf squad, but Donald was not admitted to the university.