That was one of the best, if not the best round of his life.. -8 64 under the gun, with everything on the line.. Luke Donald hit the jackpot yesterday at Disney "where dreams do come true"
Final money list http://www.pgatour.com/r/stats/current/money_projections-1.html#
Let's consider the following in no particular order.
* 6 birdies in a row from 10-15 including the one at his nemesis #14, 10 birdies in 15 holes, to blow the field away, including Webb Simpson who's 69 T6 wasn't all that shabby. He wins by 2 shots.
* he played 7 less PGA Tour events than Simpson
* he has 2 wins here and 14 top10's in 19 starts
* he wins the 2011 PGA of America Player of the Year Award and the Vardon Trophy for the best stroke average and becomes only the second Englishman to win the PGA of America Player of the Year award, following in the footsteps of Nick Faldo in 1990 and also the second English professional to capture the Vardon Trophy since the inaugural winner, ‘Lighthorse’ Harry Cooper, in 1937.
Donald earned 60 total points, based upon 20 points for winning the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship and his win victory in the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic, along with winning the season’s money title and dominating the season scoring average (68.86). Webb Simpson, who made a late-season surge with a pair of victories, finished runner-up in both the PGA Player of the Year and Vardon Trophy races with 56 points
* he gets a 5 year exemption on the PGA Tour, plus a 7 figure bonus from his clothing sponsor Ralph Lauren
* he now has a shot at history, becoming the first player to win both money titles and POY titles, but with wife Diane, due to give birth in the coming weeks and with seven events remaining and plenty of prize money still on offer, including around an €800,000 first prize at the lucrative WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, Donald still faces a stiff challenge to hold onto his status as the current European Number One and with it capture the historic money list double-header come December. He leads Rory McIlroy by 1.3m Euros.
* he won with Robert Karlsson's caddie Gareth Lord on the bag..Regular caddie John McLaren was on honeymoon..
* he adds to the incredible run for Europeans in pro golf.
Much has been made of the parity on the PGA Tour with the demise of Tiger, I trust that with this win and all that goes with it, and all that is yet to come, this quiet family man from England will finally get the ink and complete respect in North America that he so richly deserves, as the best player in the world, head and shoulders above the rest, at least for this year.
Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles
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