19 January 2024 , 16:18
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Luke Donald gifted the world’s media covering this week’s Dubai Desert Classic a glass of champagne after the Ryder Cup captain made a hole-in-one in Friday’s second round.
Donald holed out from the tee box on the par-three fourth on Friday, after a perfect eight iron perfectly travelled the 186-yard distance. It was an all important one too for the Englishman, as it saw him finish on the right side of the cut line at one-under-par for the tournament, booking him a place on the weekend.
In the aftermath Donald showed his class, by personally sending a glass of champagne each around the media centre at the Emirates Golf Club to those covering the event.
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It was Donald’s assessment afterwards that proved all the more remarkable though, with the European captain claiming his ace in the desert was his 19th overall. “I've had three in tournaments, and I think that was number 19 total.
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“So I've been pretty fortunate with the hole-in-ones. Sorry for anyone out there who has never had one. I've obviously taken them.” In the aftermath Donald opened up on ace No. 19, claiming at first he did not even see his ball land in the hole until those around the green began to celebrate.
“Yeah, 4th hole, 183 yards, a little down off the right. I just hit a cut 8-iron over this little hill. My eyesight is not that good these days. I couldn't see it but I saw some people behind the green jumping up-and-down. A shame it wasn't on camera but nice to get one of those.”
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It was the highlight in what proved to be a solid round of golf for the Englishman, posting a 71 in the Middle Eastern heat. Despite bogeys at the first, eighth and 12th, Donald found birdies at the 16th and 18th, and with the help of his ace, confirmed he made the weekend.
Donald’s concentration in recent months has of course been sidetracked from his own game, having led Europe to the Ryder Cup last October, before being reappointed in November for 2025. Therefore, the former world No. 1 was more than pleased with his first 36 holes.
“It's a good test out there, and you know, for me, having not played a lot of competitive golf in the last four months to a couple rounds under par, I'm pretty pleased with that,” he added.”Yeah, there's a lot of good there.
“I hit the ball really nicely yesterday. Didn't get quite as much out of it on greens today. A little loose off the tee. But overall, my iron play has been really strong. I'm very happy with some new irons I put in play that seem to be working pretty well.”