Luke Donald-No Respect

[smgoldstein]

Not the biggest Donald fan but find it interesting that the #1 golfer in the world is getting no respect in terms of winning the Masters.

 

[ddxu]

Not the biggest Donald fan but find it interesting that the #1 golfer in the world is getting no respect in terms of winning the Masters.

He hasn't won a major. The guys I see getting all the pub (Tiger, Rory, Phil) have won majors.

 

[coolbreeze]

He uses a mallet putter and has swamp ass most of the time, hard to cheer for that.

 

[JB]

Not the biggest Donald fan but find it interesting that the #1 golfer in the world is getting no respect in terms of winning the Masters.

He has as many top 5s there as missed cuts.
He has not won a major.

On the flip side, this could be his year, ya never know. Augusta seems to favor the longer hitters when it comes to predictions and Luke is anything but a longer hitter.

 

[SW]

He hasn't won a major. The guys I see getting all the pub (Tiger, Rory, Phil) have won majors.

True, but to be fair Rory was quite the topic before his major last year. If Luke can keep the ball in the fairway I think he will be just fine this week, Augusta requires great putting and he certainly can make putts.

 

[JB]

True, but to be fair Rory was quite the topic before his major last year. If Luke can keep the ball in the fairway I think he will be just fine this week, Augusta requires great putting and he certainly can make putts.

That is true. I think part of it has to do with the fact that very few consider Luke Donald the best player in the world. Heck, I dont think most consider him in the top 5 ironically. Is he? His stats and finishes say he is, and who I am to argue with that, but I think most golf fans and even many pundits see him more as an accumulator rather than dominant.

 

[MWard]

True, but to be fair Rory was quite the topic before his major last year. If Luke can keep the ball in the fairway I think he will be just fine this week, Augusta requires great putting and he certainly can make putts.

Of all the majors, fairway is one of the least important at Augusta since the rough is minimal. There's no real penalty for finding the second cut so long as you're not in the trees. It's hitting GIR's and putting that are important there.

 

[TC]

I respect Luke Donald. I just don't think he'll win a green jacket.

 

[smgoldstein]

That is true. I think part of it has to do with the fact that very few consider Luke Donald the best player in the world. Heck, I dont think most consider him in the top 5 ironically. Is he? His stats and finishes say he is, and who I am to argue with that, but I think most golf fans and even many pundits see him more as an accumulator rather than dominant.

I agree. If there was ever a scenario of the number one gofler flying under the radar-this s it. Might be a good week for him-no presure.

 

[Hanks]

It's why I picked him to win this week :bashful:

True, but to be fair Rory was quite the topic before his major last year. If Luke can keep the ball in the fairway I think he will be just fine this week, Augusta requires great putting and he certainly can make putts.

 

[taccwil]

He'll be in the top 5

 

[SW]

That is true. I think part of it has to do with the fact that very few consider Luke Donald the best player in the world. Heck, I dont think most consider him in the top 5 ironically. Is he? His stats and finishes say he is, and who I am to argue with that, but I think most golf fans and even many pundits see him more as an accumulator rather than dominant.

And to that point I disagree, unless Brandel Chamblee said it, then I retract :act-up:

If accumulating massive amounts of cash last season on both tours isn't dominating I need a dictionary. Tiger spoiled us into thinking that was domination, but look at guys like Els and Singh. In any other era their careers would have received much more coverage, but because of the 800 pound gorilla that is Tiger they languished on page 2.

Marino never won the big game but is he viewed as an accumulator?

 

[SW]

Of all the majors, fairway is one of the least important at Augusta since the rough is minimal. There's no real penalty for finding the second cut so long as you're not in the trees. It's hitting GIR's and putting that are important there.

But his lack of length will be more penalized from the rough wouldn't you think. Of he plays golf a little differently than I do

 

[JB]

And to that point I disagree, unless Brandel Chamblee said it, then I retract :act-up:

If accumulating massive amounts of cash last season on both tours isn't dominating I need a dictionary. Tiger spoiled us into thinking that was domination, but look at guys like Els and Singh. In any other era their careers would have received much more coverage, but because of the 800 pound gorilla that is Tiger they languished on page 2.

Marino never won the big game but is he viewed as an accumulator?

Hard to compare a QB to a golfer because a QB still must win. This is not a knock on Luke Donald, but I dont see how someone can even compare Singh and Els to that of Donald. Wins are what set them apart in my opinion and on the biggest stage. There are 3-5 majors between those two golfers and none on the other one.

Cash is much bigger now and so is tournament selection. Luke is on an incredible run and playing some of the best golf out there, but most and I think you can say that based on predictions alone, don't feel as though he is the best player in the world.

 

[FrankA]

Marino never won the big game but is he viewed as an accumulator?

There is something to be said about getting the job done. Greatest player that never won the _______, is not the same as greatest player period.

 

[Jersey Nate]

I personally think that Donald will have a good Masters as long as he is relatively straight off of the tee. He's one of the best putters and iron specialists out there, which is key at Augusta. But yes, his never winning a major will haunt his career until he gets that monkey off of his back.

 

[SW]

Hard to compare a QB to a golfer because a QB still must win. This is not a knock on Luke Donald, but I dont see how someone can even compare Singh and Els to that of Donald. Wins are what set them apart in my opinion and on the biggest stage. There are 3-5 majors between those two golfers and none on the other one.

Cash is much bigger now and so is tournament selection. Luke is on an incredible run and playing some of the best golf out there, but most and I think you can say that based on predictions alone, don't feel as though he is the best player in the world.

Ok, I worded the Els and Singh portion poorly. Not directly comparing them to Donald but more so how their careers were affected by the dominance of one player and how his play changed the way the casual fan views dominance. Yes, Donald needs to win on the biggest stage to be considered great but to consider him not the best in the world right now flies in the face of the rankings. Rory won the US Open and soon after took the number spot from Luke and was crowned the next king of the universe, Luke took that top spot back without much more than whimper from most sports news outlets.

Joe on the couch in Philly can have his opinion, that doesn't affect anything but it does foster a good conversation.

 

[MWard]

But his lack of length will be more penalized from the rough wouldn't you think. Of he plays golf a little differently than I do

Not when the second cut is like an inch in length. He won't have trouble hitting it out of there. His bigger concern is hitting the greens, where he's NR on the PGA Tour since he hasn't played enough events here, but he's 180th on the European Tour as of right now, hitting 66.67%. To compare, Ernie Els is ranked 2nd on the Euro Tour, hitting about 80.something%. PGA Tour, 70.something%.

Luke's also 52nd on the Euro Tour for total putts and N/A so far on the PGA Tour. Last year, he was 11th on the Euro Tour and 4th on the PGA Tour.

 

[JB]

Ok, I worded the Els and Singh portion poorly. Not directly comparing them to Donald but more so how their careers were affected by the dominance of one player and how his play changed the way the casual fan views dominance. Yes, Donald needs to win on the biggest stage to be considered great but to consider him not the best in the world right now flies in the face of the rankings. Rory won the US Open and soon after took the number spot from Luke and was crowned the next king of the universe, Luke took that top spot back without much more than whimper from most sports news outlets.

Joe on the couch in Philly can have his opinion, that doesn't affect anything but it does foster a good conversation.

I think that is exactly what it says and why so many have some issues with the rankings. The rankings are not exactly a current ranking. To use your football analogy (which I dont think exactly works), but it might help explain my opinion here. If a team has the best ranked defense or the best ranked offense or the best of something else, does not mean they are the best team in the league.

Just as accumulating top 10s does not make someone the best in the world at a given time in my opinion. They are certainly the most consistent, but I think many dont feel as though that he is the best player in the world. Hence the reason that the Vegas odds dont favor him, none of the "experts" favor him and so on.

 

[Jericho]

I dont like Donald to win for a few reasons:

1) Obviously Augusta greatly favors long hitters and LD is far from a long hitter.
2) Hit FIR isn't all that great and Augusta has a very thin 2nd cut...meaning mishits are amplified.
3) He's not a major winner...he's just consistently good. I dont think he has that extra gear that some of the other favorites have.

 

[Perkins Rooster]

I think Luke is deserving of the #1 title. It's so tough to be consistently great for as long as Luke has been the last 2 years.

 

[SW]

I think that is exactly what it says and why so many have some issues with the rankings. The rankings are not exactly a current ranking. To use your football analogy (which I dont think exactly works), but it might help explain my opinion here. If a team has the best ranked defense or the best ranked offense or the best of something else, does not mean they are the best team in the league.

Just as accumulating top 10s does not make someone the best in the world at a given time in my opinion. They are certainly the most consistent, but I think many dont feel as though that he is the best player in the world. Hence the reason that the Vegas odds dont favor him, none of the "experts" favor him and so on.

I get what you're saying, it's a power ranking of sorts but it's what we have. Let's either use it or scrap the system, or go to some computer based model. We can call it the Golfing Championship System.

I just missed the memo about consistency not being important anymore in today's world. Never thought consistency would be relegated to second place.

 

[SW]

I suck at multi-quote!

Not when the second cut is like an inch in length. He won't have trouble hitting it out of there. His bigger concern is hitting the greens, where he's NR on the PGA Tour since he hasn't played enough events here, but he's 180th on the European Tour as of right now, hitting 66.67%. To compare, Ernie Els is ranked 2nd on the Euro Tour, hitting about 80.something%. PGA Tour, 70.something%.

Luke's also 52nd on the Euro Tour for total putts and N/A so far on the PGA Tour. Last year, he was 11th on the Euro Tour and 4th on the PGA Tour.

You and your stats make my head hurt!! Has he played that much on the Euro tour for those stats to be legitimate? Let's just agree that Donald is awesome and he might finish second this week.

 

[JB]

I get what you're saying, it's a power ranking of sorts but it's what we have. Let's either use it or scrap the system, or go to some computer based model. We can call it the Golfing Championship System.

I just missed the memo about consistency not being important anymore in today's world. Never thought consistency would be relegated to second place.

I dont think consistency is a negative thing, but it does not make people think best in the world. The rankings do have flaws. Remember TW still being #1 without playing and/or playing poorly? Or being #1 without actually winning by others.

That is why there is an alternate format of ranking that has been floating around for a while and in that format, Stricker I believe is #1.

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

He has as many top 5s there as missed cuts.
He has not won a major.

On the flip side, this could be his year, ya never know. Augusta seems to favor the longer hitters when it comes to predictions and Luke is anything but a longer hitter.

^^^This^^^