Fair point re Tiger Cosa but the idea is he has to commit and play both tours fully to be able to win it. Waltzing in for the odd event is 'easy' enough. Playing 48 from 52 weeks and being consistent in doing so is where the skill of Donalds achievement lies.

Why is it so often seen necessary to do down magnificent achievement with an  "ah   but....."   based wholly  on pointless speculation as to what might have happened if....

Not just getting at you CosaNostra - it seems widespread

My reckoning  is that if Tom Morris had been alive and there, he would have won the Order of Merit 10 times.  

Kieran Thompson wrote (see)

Waltzing in for the odd event is 'easy' enough. Playing 48 from 52 weeks

48 from 52 ??? what exactly are you talking about

niblick, the only thing is the minimum number of tournie's.

If the Euro had no minimum number of tournament entries then Tiger would have won on both tours a multitude of times.

....nothing to do with "what if's" that are impossible.

Hats off to Luke, consistency epitomised. No three putts in over 450 holes of golf is a pretty remarkable stat.

CosaNostra wrote (see)

Fact is Tiger accumulated enough money many times to win the Euro order of Merit he simply did not play enough events to officialy qualify

Niblick's point still stands - why point out that Woods "would have" when he didn't? Donald is committed to the European tour whereas Woods is not and never has been; any money he won that contributed to the Order of Merit or Race to Dubai would have been won in co-sanction events like the WGC or the Desert Swing where he racks up millions in appearance money.

Why should the spectre of Woods cast a shadow over anyone else's achievements in the game?

It's unlikely anyone else will do the same as Donald anytime soon - I admire the man for playing his own way and being a great mbassador for golf and England. 

is tiger woods the man utd of golf, even when they dont play commentators still want to talk about them,,,,,,,,,,,, a great run by luke on both sides of the pond

Well done Luuuuuuuke.

Great to see Donald do it. 

Sam the slicer wrote (see)

Great to see Donald do it. 

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Niblick's point still stands - why point out that Woods "would have" when he didn't?

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Because the only reason he wasn't the official OOM winner was a requirement for minumum tournaments played. ie, he was good enough in the few tournaments he played to win more than anyone else on the Euro tour in that year. I'm pretty sure appearance money doesn't factor in to it.  

<p style="text-align: left;"> 

Samiguel wrote (see)

CosaNostra wrote (see)

Fact is Tiger accumulated enough money many times to win the Euro order of Merit he simply did not play enough events to officialy qualify

Niblick's point still stands - why point out that Woods "would have" when he didn't? 

Because the only reason he wasn't the official OOM winner was a requirement for minumum tournaments played. ie, he was good enough in the few tournaments he played to win more than anyone else on the Euro tour in that year. I'm pretty sure appearance money doesn't factor in to it.  

bloody hell - quote function going crazy.... Anyhow, you get my drift - just read the last bit... 

Sam, whilst I completely get the point about events played the thread is about Luke Donald and his achievement. Why people feel the need to compare that to something that Tiger Woods hasn't actually done (notwithstanding the arguments listed above) is beyond me.

BTW I realise that appearance money doesn't count of course, but pointed out it out as being probably the only reason why Woods has played in the Desert Swing (same as his annual appearance in the Australian Open).

The media are obsessed with the player, we as fans don't all need to be as well. As an Englishman I am delighted that Donald has achieved what he has and that he has done something that Woods has never done and is unlikely to ever do in the future.

scubascuba3 wrote (see)

Anyone know whether he won the pga player vote award thing?

Not been announced yet. After moving the closing date to try and get a home winner they are currently adjusting the votes to make sure an American wins it

Luke`s play this year has been exceptional. His consistency has been astonishing. He may not be a swashbuckling big hitter, he may not be as "exciting to watch" as some others. But they way he manages his golf game and himself is a lesson to us all.

According to one stat, he is 182 under par for the year.

The Woods thing is somewhat irrelevent. He chose not to play enough regular events on the Euro tour to qualify. Tiger was Major hunting.

Once Luke won the PGA, he clearly set a goal to try and top the money list on both tours. Its almost like setting that goal kept his year going and spurred him on. Its correct that the feat was made somewhat "easier" thanks to the dual sanctioned events, but he still chose to play enough events on both tours. Thats a big commitment and a lot of travelling.

As ever, We wait for someone to get to the top, then we pick the bones out of what they have achieved. Its what we do as a nation..........

Well, despite my cynicism Luke has now been crowned the PGA tour player of the year. No more than he deserves.