Oct. 23, 2011
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Northwestern alum and 1999 NCAA champion Luke Donald was scheduled to celebrate his 10th reunion with the Class of 2001 Saturday as the honorary captain for NU's homecoming game against Penn State at Ryan Field in Evanston, Ill.
Instead, on Friday, Oct. 21, knowing that Webb Simpson was about to overtake him as the leading money winner for the PGA TOUR season, Donald committed to play in the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic -- the finale on the 2011 schedule. Simpson and Donald were paired together at the tournament, and shared some lighthearted banter during Thursday's opening round.
"He asked when I was having my offseason," Donald said. "I said, `Well, it was going to be this week. Thanks for playing the last two weeks.'"
Donald entered the tournament needing a win to basically guarantee himself the money title, and he accomplished exactly that. After beginning Sunday trailing by five strokes, Donald carded a phenomenal final-round 64 that featured a run of six-straight birdies to charge to a two-stroke victory in the tournament and win the Arnold Palmer Trophy as the PGA TOUR's leading money winner in 2011. He is the first player since Tom Lehman in 1996 to win the PGA TOUR money title in the final tournament of the year.
"This is one of the most satisfying wins of my career," said Donald, who still employs Northwestern head men's golf coach Pat Goss as his swing coach. "Everything was on the line. I'm thrilled and over the moon."
Donald, who trailed Simpson by $363,029 coming into the final tournament of the year, was two behind Simpson when they made the turn. Then came a performance that ranks among Donald's best, even in his greatest season of golf.
He holed four-straight birdie putts inside eight feet, took the lead with an 18-foot birdie on the par-5 14th hole, then sealed his stunning rally with a 45-foot birdie on the 15th hole. The win was his second on the PGA TOUR this season and was his eye-popping 14th top-10 of the year.
Donald also is attempting to become the first person to ever lead both the PGA TOUR and the European Tour money lists in the same season; he currently has a $1.8 million lead over second-place Rory McIlroy with five tournaments remaining on the European Tour slate.
Information from PGATOUR.com was used in this release.
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