Luke Donald, number one in the world ranking, will defend this week the title of the Bankia Madrid Masters, a special tournament for the Englishman because it marked the beginning of his brilliant assault to the top of golf, culminated a year later. It had been 18 years since the best golfer on the planet had competed in Madrid, since Nick Faldo played the Spanish Open in 1993. The Bankia Madrid Masters will host tomorrow a tribute to Severiano Ballesteros by the Community of Madrid and El Encín Golf Hotel.
With the victory in the last edition of the Bankia Madrid Masters, Luke Donald managed to turn his career around: he broke four years of frustration and drought of titles, climbed to the world Top 10 (ninth place), and placed himself in a very good position for the Ryder Cup qualification, a goal he also saw fulfilled by being part of the European team that defeated the American at Celtic Manor.
Despite leading the tournament from the first day, his was a hard-fought victory that he secured with an eagle on the 16th hole of the Real Sociedad Hípica Española Club de Campo. On that hot afternoon in May, Donald promised he would return and included the Bankia Madrid Masters in his agenda, especially since it was a tournament organized by his great friend Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño from Madrid. The conquest of the world number one title a year later did not change his commitment to the tournament.
“The victory in Madrid opened many doors for me, it was a confidence boost and a great satisfaction, as it showed me that a job well done was finally paying off. My career towards the number one in the world started in Madrid. From then on, things started to go very well, I had a great year, partly because of the change in my attitude, much more responsible since I had my daughter. I like to defend the titles I win as a show of gratitude and support”.
“Winning in Madrid was very special; my link with Spain goes back a long way when I was a child and used to go with my family on vacation to La Manga Club (Murcia), that’s where I learned to play golf. They didn’t make it easy for me (Rhys Davies, Francesco Molinari and Graeme McDowell) and I had a hard time, but I think the key was to keep a very positive attitude throughout the week”, said the champion when he received the trophy.
Madrid welcomes a number one, eighteen years later
It has been a whopping 18 years since Madrid fans have had the opportunity to see a world number one compete on their soil. The last time it happened was in 1993, when another Englishman, Nick Faldo, came to the Madrid capital to play the Open de España at the RACE at the top of the world ranking. The Bankia Madrid Masters breaks, therefore, a streak of nearly twenty years and gives the public the opportunity and the privilege of seeing the best player in the world at this time.
Leave a Reply