Donald silences critics with victory at Accenture Match Play

MARANA, Ariz. -- It was every bit as derogatory as it sounds. Not that there was much room for interpretation.

Luke Donald made 32 birdies in 89 holes at Accenture. (AP)

A couple of years ago, a major London newspaper published a story about supposedly pampered professionals who were career underachievers, guys who enjoyed the high life more than they did the actual grind and personal application required to become winners.
The thrust was that some players are fat and happy, content to cash big checks, while avoiding the headaches that accompany being in contention and winning.
The newspaper gave it a name, reflected in the incredibly cruel headline in the Telegraph: Luke Donald Disease of underachievement.
Damn right, Donald saw it.
"I've kind of been ... depicted as someone that is very happy contending, picking up checks, but doesn't really care about winning," Donald said. "That's as far away from the truth as it can be."
Donald's victory in the Accenture Match Play Championship final, as convincing and emphatic as any authored by any player in months, ought to have some folks eating their words. Newsprint and all.
The body of the Telegraph story from July, 1999, read: "His backdoor top-five finish last week at [the British Open], where he didn't need to execute a single shot in the crucible of actual contention, was vintage Donald. Thanks for the cameo. Thanks for the check. Now back to the States for more of the same. Donald isn't a bad guy. In fact, he's quite a pleasant fellow. He just isn't a driven one."
Well, the Englishman has driven his underpowered, undermotivated, underachieving little go-kart to No. 3 in the world rankings, which is a pretty effective way of shutting up those who questioned his inner resolve.
His performance this week was flat head-turning. He never trailed in a single match. He never played the 18th hole. He made 32 birdies in 89 holes. In the final, he dispatched rising global superstar Martin Kaymer, the new No. 1 player in the game.
Yet there wasn't any question as to the identity of the best player in the 64-man field this week. It was the 5-10, 160-pound, 33-year-old, 10-year veteran from England, who won his sixth worldwide event.
It was, without question, his biggest victory -- and the timing could not have been better. Donald has flitted around the world top 10 for years, and not without good reason, it was noted that his résumé as far as victories was thin. Still, it wasn't for a lack of effort. Given his size, the Northwestern graduate doesn't have the same horsepower as the "modern player," as he put it. His margin for error is smaller in the powerball era.
Victory or not, Donald is prepared for the onslaught of cries that he doesn't deserve to be ranked third on the planet, given that he has two wins in the past five years.
"But I think there's something to say for consistency," he said. "Even Lee Westwood being No. 1, he got criticized because he hadn't won a major, hadn't won too many events in the last couple of years. But his consistency was good enough to get to No. 1.
"There's something to be said for that, to be competing week in and week out, being under that strain. I know winning is a big deal and it's the biggest deal, but being consistent is also important."
All the caveats complete, let's cut to the true chase. In terms of confidence and career building, this represented a watershed week for the Brit. More than once, Donald has had chances to win big events and not sealed the deal. Being characterized as a paper tiger isn't fun.
This week, he was Tiger-like. When his Ryder Cup record of 8-2-1 is considered, Donald might be one of the best three or four best match-play practitioners in the world at the moment, and that format is surely not for the faint of heart.
That trophy he was handed on Sunday, yeah, Donald sorely needed it.
"Absolutely, especially in the States, where winning is everything," said his caddie, John McLaren. "A guy just making a great living is not a guy who is looked upon as a winner, when we all know he is a tough little character. You have seen him at the Ryder Cup, and he works hard -- he is the most diligent golfer I have ever come across. But there is no doubt he needed to win."
Whether the eye-popping performance will prove cathartic is impossible to say. The top players are stacked up so deep these days, it's hard to keep track of the musical chairs. In the last couple of years, players like Geoff Ogilvy, Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia have all climbed to Nos. 2-3 in the rankings and failed to keep the foothold.
Before his victory against a so-so field in Spain last summer on the European Tour, Donald hadn't won anywhere since 2006. He had wrist surgery in the interim and missed several months, but it was a drought that obviously didn't pass unnoticed.
"Hopefully getting past that stage of going a number of years without winning, this will open up the flood gates, as they say," Donald said.
If was a desert flash flood this week, to be sure.
"I think the most impressive bit was how Luke managed to get running right from the first," McLaren said. "He seemed to birdie that or the second, if not both of them, and then after that he just doesn't seem to let shots go. People have to win holes against him."
Perhaps Donald's image as a softie will change, perhaps not. He is an oil painter who enjoys wine, wears Polo clothes and attended a private college. In short, he's a proper Brit, which is enough for some blue-collar types to question his testosterone count.
He's also the guy who just recorded the most dominant performance in the 12-year history of the match-play event. At 33, he amassed the second-most world-ranking points in 2010. In 28 worldwide starts last year, he recorded 14 top-10s, including a runner-up at the FedEx Cup finale in Atlanta.
He isn't often spectacular. Donald is often like the Postal Service -- be it snow or sleet or rain, he shows up with the mail. By the way, we had all three in the final round on Sunday, when a frigid storm blew through the Sonoran Desert.
This time, there was no knocking. The postman impolitely kicked the door down.
"I've had a bit of a monkey on my back the last few years," he said. "There were a lot of sweat and tears to get to this point. But I broke through and it feels really good."