Does Luke Donald have staying power?

No doubt that Luke Donald is a world class player and his number three ranking in the world is proof enough; but has Donald maxed out his potential? Can he make a real bid to be world’s number one? 

In 2007, Donald was ranked 17^th in the world when he decided he wanted to hit it with the big boys; but the only results he saw, was a drop in his world rankings. In 2008, he was ranked 31^st in the world and in 2009 he finished 28^th. “…I think probably back in 2007, if you want to really know the truth, I think I decided to try to hit the ball a little bit farther, to try to catch up to some of my peers, and I think it made my swing get off kilter. And it's taken a good two or three years for it to get back to almost where I need it to be. So I think mostly it's been physical.”

Now that he has gone back to his old swing, he finds himself ranked 3^rd in the world; but is it enough to have a superior short game? I just don’t think so. Let’s look at some key stats from the 2010 season: Donald was ranked 177^th in driving distance. Coupled with a meek 62% in driving accuracy, it’s obvious he has trouble off the tee. Even more fascinating is that Donald was ranked 152^nd in hitting greens in regulation. To make up for his poor performance off the tee and into the green, Donald became efficient on and around the greens. He was ranked 1^st in getting up and down from the bunkers and 4^th in scrambling. The product of which was his 7^th place ranking in scoring average.

Driving Distance	277	177th
Driving Accuracy Percentage	62.36%	120th
Greens in Regulation Percentage	65.28%	152nd
Putting Average	1.751	17th
Scoring Average	69.85	7th
Sand Save Percentage	66.39%	1st
Total Driving	297	186th
Putts Per Round	28.46	8th
Top 10 Finishes	7	6th
Scrambling	65.41%	4th

You can say it’s not all about distance off the tee and to some degree it’s not. After all, Jim Furyk, another bunter of the ball, took home the $10 million dollar FEDEX prize last year and finished ranked 5^th in the world; but he was also ranked 8^th in driving accuracy.  The highest Furyk ever finished in the world rankings was in 2006 where he placed 2^nd behind Tiger Woods.  

So does Donald have the potential to get to number one, of course he does, but it’s just not likely. Even if Donald improves his accuracy off the tee and into the green, the best would he could hope for is a Jim Furyk type of career.  It’s no surprise that the three top ranked players last year all averaged over 290 yards off the tee—Westwood (294), Woods (296), and Kaymer (294). In all, that’s almost a two club difference into the greens. That’s the difference between getting home in two or having a short iron instead of a mid-iron into the green. Ultimately, it’s just too much pressure on Donald’s short game to ever sit on top of the world rankings. Regardless of whether or not he gets to world number one, it’s safe to say that we will see lots of Luke Donald in the future.