Luke Donald Quotations

If we're playing into the wind, that's a very small green to be hitting a mid-iron into. In some cases, I can see playing for the front bunker and trying to get up and down (for par) if I have to hit a long iron there.

Certainly it worked for me last year - hopefully it does again.

I don't think you win or lose this tournament off the tee. I mean, it's all around the greens.

He's definitely on the right track. It seems like Tiger got his focus and determination back this year. Obviously he has another eight to go and he'll have to play great. But never say never with Tiger. I think he has the desire as well as the ability to carry him through.

Knowing I have played well here before helps a lot.

I think a few of the holes you hit good shots and you find yourself on side slopes, but maybe that's what the designer had in mind. On 9 and 10, you can hit good drives down the middle and have an awkward stance in the fairway; I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It adds character to the hole, for sure.

It got considerably colder and it was just hard to keep your hands warm, hard to keep your rhythm.

Paul got off to a great start and putted absolutely beautifully. It was always going to be hard to get back in the match.

I was pretty proud of the way I finished today and finished the job off. ... I held it together. Anytime you finish with a birdie like that and a great shot, it means a lot to a golfer.

We have very similar games and I can learn a lot from Bernhard.

We were steady, nothing too great. But I was glad to come out with a win.

Today was frustrating. I didn't really hit the ball too badly, I just struggled on the greens more than anything.

We'll see how I feel (this) morning, though.

We call him 'plod'. It's fairways and greens with Luke, he kind of plods his way around the golf course. He's a very boring player, which is a compliment in golf.

When Phil shot his 62, a lot of people were saying it would be a long time before another guy shoots 62 out there. But it only took 365 days or so (actually 366). I'm glad it was me.

With the conditions, all the courses are there to make some birdies. I think the scoring is going to be good this week if the weather stays like this. Sixty-two is a great start, but it's not like the tournament is over. I have to keep playing solid golf. Hopefully, I can do what Phil did last year.

I've still got to believe that I can (win). If I play really great golf, then I've got a chance to win around here.

You're walking up the 18th, every window of every building there were people watching. I saw Ernie Els looking out on the 17th of the (Old Course) hotel. I mean, everyone was watching. This was a huge moment in golf, and to be playing with him was pretty special. It was a great treat.

You see some of his drives ... if I could hit it that far, this game would be easy. But you still have to get the ball in the hole.

They're sitting in Jack's locker at the Bear's Club waiting for him to sign when he goes there. He only plays there about twice a year, so we'll see how long that will take.

It wasn't the start I wanted but I stayed patient and kept telling myself you just need one break to get it going and that's what happened on the ninth.

It's a great start, but nothing more than that.

It only took 365 days. I'm glad it was me.

It's obviously not the start I wanted, but I knew there were a lot of birdie holes out there.

It's going to take a while. Obviously, if I won the next 10 tournaments, I'm not sure if I would catch Tiger. I don't really know how the math works. I'd have to probably win the next 40 events.

The next step is to win majors. Do I think I can win majors? Absolutely. I think I have a great game for the majors. I'm very steady, and that's the main reason why I think if I keep playing the way I've been playing, there's no reason why I can't strive to be the best player in the world.

It's nice to do it that way. Fortunately for me, the guys in the first two groups didn't play their best and let me have this one a little bit.

It's nice to be back in the winner's circle on this tour again after, you know, three-, four-year break.

The ball had a bit of mud on it and I was just hoping it would fly straight. In the air it looked pretty good.

The atmosphere and the energy that he brings with him, with the crowd and stuff, I thrive off that.

It was one of those rounds where nothing was happening.

It was just one of those fun days. I hardly had any trouble at all. I've shared the lead after the second round for two straight weeks, so obviously the game is good.

Not much was going wrong. It's usually colder and wetter, and the longest of the courses. But with the weather, this is the shortest it has played.

Not much was going wrong. I didn't really threaten to make bogey today and kept it in play.

Apart from missing a couple of short putts it was a pretty good round.

I kept patient, kept telling myself you need one good hole to get it started. Obviously, that was the ninth.

I made six pretty easy birdies in the pro-am so I had to stick in there after the start and hope there were some more birdies around the corner. Apart from missing a couple of short putts, it was a pretty good round.

I knew if I just played Luke Donald golf, it'd be good enough. It's nice to finish with a great shot like that.

I definitely feel better about my game having shot 66 yesterday than if I shot 75 or 76. I felt like I played quite nicely during the whole week. It was very close to very good golf. That's why I like to play the week before a major, just to get judgment on how I'm playing.

I feel I haven't played a bad round here yet.

I feel like even though the course has changed, I've changed as a player, too. I've gotten better since last year, so it shouldn't make too much of a difference.

You don't have to hit too bad of a shot to be penalized quite severely. That's what makes the course very difficult. And that, coupled with a bit of wind, makes it tough.

The qualifying system helps the top guys like Sergio Garcia, who play most of their golf in the U.S. They can rely on the world rankings and just play their four extra events [with the four majors and three World Golf Championship events counting as seven European events]. But for the other guys it's tough, and I don't know if that can be changed. It is a tricky situation.

I watched the Olympics as a kid. It would be fun to try to win a medal. If I could swap Olympic gold for a US PGA Championship? I'd take the Major every time.

I've been at the front a couple of times and won back in 2002, but I haven't been in that position too many times over here in the United States, so we'll see how it goes.

I think the way the greens are, you need to be very accurate with your irons. Whether there's wind or not, the most important thing out here is being able to control the distance of your irons and the direction. I've done that pretty well the last couple of days.

The last few years I've been doing the Middle East thing, and it's a tough decision whether to go there and try and knock off some events as a European Tour member, this year I think overall looking at my results, I played a little bit better on the West Coast than I have in the Middle East, so that was another determining factor for coming back here to an event that I have had some success in the past.

My objective has always been to get better, no matter where my ranking is.