'I get a little uptight. I've got to control that . . .'

Golf Correspondent

Thursday 12 July 2012

It's that time of the season again for Luke Donald.

Luke Donald finds time yesterday to sign autographs for some of his young admirers at Castle Stuart. Picture: James Galloway

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Nick Rodger

A major championship is looming large on the horizon and the clouds of uncertainty seem to be gathering. The 34-year-old Englishman was preparing to launch the defence of his Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open crown at Castle Stuart but, as his quest to finally plunder one of the grand slam titles goes on, the focus swiftly switched to the forthcoming Open Championship at Royal Lytham.

For the sixth major in a row, Donald will head into next week's showpiece over the Lancashire links as the world No.1 but, in a frank admission, he laid bare his failings at the very highest level. The weight of frenzied expectation continues to be an extremely heavy burden."I've realised that for a while [that I put too much pressure on myself]," admitted Donald, whose last competitive outing was at June's US Open in San Francisco, where he missed the halfway cut after a damaging first-round 79. "Sometimes I slip into that mode without realising it. I know there's a difference in myself. I get a little bit more agitated, a little bit more anxious. The people around me notice it too. So it's just a constant process of trying to work on that and improving every time. It has to come from me, I've just got to work through it. "I've played shorter courses, wider courses, narrow courses, long courses. I've been successful in a variety of different places. It just comes down to being in the right position mentally and having confidence in your own game and what you're doing. I get a little more uptight and I've got to try and control that. That's going to be the priority."This time last year, Donald was in irresistible form as he conjured a final round of 63 – the lowest of his European Tour career – to march to victory in the Scottish Open. A few days later, however, that optimism had turned to crushing disappointment as he made an early exit from the Open at Royal St George's."Usually, winning the week before is a good thing," said Donald, who is aiming for a notable double-double this week, having already made a successful defence of his BMW PGA Championship title at Wentworth at the end of May, "but at Sandwich, I just didn't adapt to the short game. And I think that proved to me that it's not just a physical problem. It's more of just getting in that moment of not trying to force the issue."It's not all bad for Donald, though. Last week at Wimbledon, he had his first experience of a seat in the royal box and enjoyed a bite of lunch with a certain Kylie Minogue. I should be so lucky? "She wasn't actually aware that I was a golfer," added the former Walker Cup player with a smile.Here in the Highlands at least, Donald will stand out from the crowd and will come under threat from a number of players in an impressive field, all eager to dunt this King of the Castle off his throne. The links effect of the Mark Parsinen and Gil Hanse course may have been seriously tempered by the unrelenting rain, which has reduced all the run and heightened the receptiveness of the greens, but the rough in places is particularly penal, due to the conditions, and some additional bunkering and a bit of tactical tightening up has bolstered the defences. The forecast for the championship is hardly dazzling, with rain very much to the fore, but the prospect of the wind picking up for Sunday's closing round would add a new and welcome layer of menace to a course that's not been treated kindly by the elements. It would have been nice to have a true links test, a hard and fast examination, but there will still be abundant challenges and, despite the general drooking, the course has stood up to the assaults from above. "We've had a lot of rain, almost continuous for 24 hours but it's held up very well," said tournament director Mike Stewart. "We've had no real issues and we're very pleased with the way it's dealt with the rain. The rough has become quite juicy. If you're in the rough now you could be hitting out sideways, instead of going in with a rescue club."The way the course is designed it would play better with a bit of wind. As it stands, the best players will shoot low numbers."It may not be the real links stage everybody wanted but, nevertheless, this particular stage is now set for an intriguing Highland gathering.

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'I get a little uptight. I've got to control that . . .'

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