Relaxed, confident Donald dominates Day 1 at Memorial

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Luke Donald made six consecutive birdies to surge into the lead on Thursday.

DUBLIN, Ohio -- Luke Donald spent Monday and Tuesday in Chicago, where he and his wife Diane had just moved into a new house.

In retrospect, that break may have been a good thing.

LUKE DONALD

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Interview transcript
SIRIUS XM interview
Donald talks putting
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Donald didn't have time to worry about how much faster the greens at Muirfield Village were compared with those at Colonial Country Club last week. He just went out and played, and the result was a dazzling 64 that included eight birdies in a nine-hole stretch.

The greens at Colonial were running at 11 1/2 on the Stimpmeter, while those on Jack Nicklaus' signature course are nearly 2 feet faster. Donald, who tied for 13th last week, hadn't played in the Crowne Plaza Invitational since 2004.

"The course was in great shape, but greens were quite soft and reasonably slow for what we usually play on," Donald said. "These, on the other hand, are extremely quick, quickest we play all year.

"They might not be as slopey as Augusta, but on a flat putt, they're probably quicker than Augusta. It was quite a bit of an adjustment."

Donald coped awfully well, though. He used just 20 putts -- which is two off the PGA TOUR record held by six players, most recently accomplished in 2000 by Corey Pavin at the Bell Canadian Open. That betters the Memorial mark by one.

Three of Donald's five best putting rounds have come at Muirfield Village, a course he first played as an amateur in 2000 after winning the Jack Nicklaus Award as the nation's top collegiate golfer. He used 22 in the other performances, each also in the first round.

Ironically, Donald's round began with a bogey that he promptly negated when he chipped in for birdie at No. 2. Five pars later, the Englishman erupted -- making six straight birdies from 15, 10, 25, 12, 6 and 8 feet.

"I guess all good rounds start with a bogey," Donald said with a smile. "It was just kind of a normal everyday round until I got to the eighth and made a nice putt from the fringe from about 15 feet there. That kind of sparked off a run. ...

"That doesn't happen very often, but when you get on that roll, it feels pretty good. So just kept going and made some birdies."

Donald, who leads the TOUR in five different putting categories, was extremely steady on the back nine where he hit seven of nine greens to give himself plenty of opportunities. He had nine straight one-putt greens starting at the ninth hole.

"All year, I've been trying to focus on hitting more greens and hitting more fairways because I have been putting the ball well," Donald said. "This course is reasonably generous off the tee, but you have to put your approach shots in good positions to give yourself uphill putts because downhill putts are extremely, extremely quick and you have to give them a lot of respect.

"I did a good job of giving myself some makable putts today, which helped."

Donald has played extremely well this year. He tied for second at the Verizon Heritage and has three other top-10 finishes and eight total among the top 25. All that's missing is a victory, which would be his first since The 2006 Honda Classic.

A win at Nicklaus' tournament would be particularly special for Donald.

"The players look forward to this event," he said. "We're treated extremely well. It's one of the better courses we play all year, and the best greens we play all year. I think this behind the majors is up there as one of the best tournaments we play all year.

"It would mean a lot to play well here and have a chance to win. But it's extra special because I do know Jack a little bit better than some of the other guys."

Donald is a member at The Bear's Club in Jupiter, Fla., and he sees the course designer frequently there during the winter. In addition, the two pros have a marketing relationship with RBS.

The 31-year-old Donald also was fortunate enough to play with Nicklaus as he bid farewell at the 2005 British Open at St. Andrews. At first he wondered if it would be a distraction, but he wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

"It's something very special, something I felt honored to be a part of," said Donald, who shot 68-73. "... (I actually played) considering the amount of people and the experience, clapped on every green and every fairway.

"The last couple of holes on Friday is something that I'll always remember."

And if he continues to play as well as he did in the first round, Sunday could be another special memory.