Donald angered by late stumble

bruced
August 13, 2011

The normally phlegmatic Luke Donald was seething last night after seeing some hard-fought work go up in smoke.

The normally phlegmatic Luke Donald was seething last night after seeing some hard-fought work go up in smoke at what what is rapidly becoming the hardest hole in golf.

This is the dreaded 18th hole at the Atlanta Athletic Club which Donald reached flying high in Saturday’s third round of the 93rd US PGA Championship after having picked up two valauble shots and having moved into a share of third place, one shot of the pace at 4-under.

Indeed, but for a bogey at 16, Donald, who had started his day with a bogey at the second, but had charged up the leaderboard with birdies at holes 3, 4 and 5, 9 on the front nine and at at 13 and 14 coming home could have shared the lead and if he had nailed a 10th foot putt at the tough par 3 15th he could even have moved clear of the field at 6-under.

But he was nevertheless happyv with his 3rd place and could have come out of the round smiling but for the heavily-bunkered, watery 507-yard par-4 18th where he drove into a bunker and then into water and finally came away with a double bogey and a two-over 68 that dropped him back at that stage to a 1-under 209 and a share of 16th place some four shots off the pace

“I’m really angry,” he told the media.

“I had something good going and I threw it away.”
Asked if he would go away and bang his fist against a wall, kick a cat or something he replied: “I might punish myself in the gym.

“It’s just a shame to waste it like I did. I worked so hard to get to five under.

“Those last few holes are tough, but on the third shot to 18 I was probably too aggressive with my line and just pushed it.

“I gave myself a lot of chances, that’s the positive thing, and if I can go low tomorrow who knows? But obviously today’s finish leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.”

Westwood, 14th at halfway and four behind, birdied the long fifth and 442-yard 10th to climb to three under.
He was up to joint sixth, but three back when Dufner, joint overnight pace-setter with compatriot Keegan Bradley, birdied the short seventh to reach six under.

Dufner at that stage, led by one from a former US Open champion, Jim Furyk, Bradley and a fourth American Brendan Steele.

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