Luke Donald believes he is not far off from regaining the form that made him world No1 even though 2012 has been a poor year by his high standards.
The Englishman lost his place at the top of the rankings to Rory McIlroy a couple of weeks ago after finishing 37th at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina.
It was Donald’s seventh tournament of the year and the fifth time he was outside the top 10. By contrast, the 34-year-old had six top-10 finishes over the same period in 2011.
However, as he prepared to tee off at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans today, Donald remained optimistic and pointed to last month’s success at the Transitions Championship.
“The things I’ve been doing great over the last few years — wedge work, short game, putting — just haven’t been quite as sharp this year,” he said. “I’m putting in the effort but this just sort of happens sometimes. I’m not too worried. Obviously, it’s not far away. I won at Transitions and everything came together pretty well that week.
“I’m working hard to try and get back to the consistent level to where I was last year. I feel I’m good enough to get back to No1.”
