The year 2011 proved to be a memorable one for English golfers Lee Westwood and Luke Donald, but can they finally win a Major in 2012?
Westwood feels that he has been a bit below-par in 2011 but a glance at the word rankings suggests that it was not all bad news, as he finished second only to Donald in the standings.
The Worksop-born star won in South Korea at the Ballantine’s Championship and also at the Indonesian Masters but then did not return to the winner’s enclosure until the end of the campaign, with an amazing performance to secure the Thailand Open.
He also won the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa to boost the bank balance and was generally solid in the majors, finishing in a tie for 11th at the Masters, in joint-third at the US Open and in a share of eighth place at the USPGA.
Westwood (14/1 Masters Outright) missed the cut at the Open Championship, but conditions played a major part in that event and he is sure to be back in 2012.
The 38-year-old has been one of the top players in the world for the past two or three years, but will forever be fielding questions about his lack of a major until he finally gets one.
Darren Clarke proved that age is no barrier when winning the Open at the age of 43 this year but not many stars do win majors over the age of 40 – so time is not on Westy’s side.
Donald has four years on Westwood and will have enjoyed the festive period reflecting on his amazing achievements in 2011.
The Hemel Hempstead-born star won the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic and ended the year as the world’s number one-ranked player. But, like Westwood, he still does not have a major on his CV.
His consistency has been nothing short of sensational this season and he managed top 10 finishes in both the Masters and the USPGA, while following Westwood out of the Open at the halfway stage.
A section of the media, mostly in the USA, have questioned whether or not he should be called the best player in the world without having won a major, but most of his peers have leapt to Donald’s defence and hailed the way he has challenged at nearly every tournament he has played in this year and rewritten the record books.
The challenge now is to do it in a major and Donald (100/30 to win a major in 2012) has already made it clear that it is main priority in 2012.
Whether or not he does it only time will tell, but he is the most likely to make the major breakthrough because he has the game to take on any of the world’s top stars and the mental strength to handle the pressure.
