Donald looking to end victory drought in a big way on Sunday

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Will Luke Donald win both the FedExCup and THE TOUR Championship on Sunday?

ATLANTA -- Luke Donald is as understated as they come, a soft-spoken Englishman who plays the game with the kind of pluck and precision that some expected to have produced more wins than the two he has now on the PGA TOUR.

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FEDEXCUP TOP 5: What are they focused on this week? Winning THE TOUR Championship, writes Helen Ross. Column PLAYER REPORTS: How did the 30 players competing at THE TOUR Championship fare in the second round at East Lake? More DREAM OR NIGHTMARE? To sleep to not sleep or to oversleep? That is the question in the 2010 Playoffs. Column

Come Sunday, though, the 32-year-old just might be the center of attention at East Lake Golf Club -- and he could be holding a trophy in either hand.

The Waterford crystal replica of a swinging golfer goes to the winner THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola while a gleaming silver Tiffany trophy is awarded to the FedExCup champion. And if Donald continues to play the way he has the first two rounds, the winner could be one in the same.

Donald fired a 66 at East Lake on Friday, his career low on Bobby Jones' home course, to maintain a share of the lead at the midway point of the finale of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Donald is tied with Jim Furyk at 8 under, but the blond Brit owns the edge in the race for the $10 million bonus.

"(I am) very happy with 66," Donald said. "It was another good day score wise, and I'm in a great position, so it was nice to build off a solid first round and continue that. Yeah, very happy with the score."

Donald ended a six-year drought on the European Tour earlier this year when he won the Madrid Masters. A victory on Sunday would be the Northwestern grad's third on the PGA TOUR and his fiirst since the 2006 Honda Classic.

Donald has played extremely well during the first two rounds at East Lake, where he tied for fifth in 2006. Surprisingly, the steady Brit hasn't hit that many fairways -- just 11 of 28 -- but he ranks fourth in greens in regulation (27 of 36) and tied for third in putting wtih 56, including just 26 on Thursday.

"Statistically I'm actually not that straight of a driver," Donald said. "If you look at my statistics, something I feel like if I could improve a little bit, something that would go a long way into getting me to contend a little bit more. With my distance out there, I need to hit more fairways, and it's something I'm going to concentrate on.

"But this place is tough, and being as firm and fast as it is, it is tough to hit fairways. Especially the back nine for me, it seems like the wind and the slopes are all pushing the ball to the right, and my ball flight right at the moment is a slight fade. So it just becomes very narrow targets.

"I've struggled a little bit off the tee on the back side and been able to short game it and kind of get away with it. But I need to improve that just a little bit this weekend if I can."

Donald already has two runner-up finishes this year -- including a tie for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship, which is the second Playoffs event -- and a pair of thirds. The runner-up finish at TPC Boston moved him to fifth in the FedExCup standings, but he dropped two spots when he tied for 37th in a home game in Chicago at the BMW Championship.

A win on Sunday, though, could give Donald the ultimate prize -- and send him to Wales to play in the Ryder Cup with considerable momentum. Donald was one of Colin Montgomerie's three Captain's Picks for the European Team that will host the Americans next weekend at Celtic Manor.

"From my perspective I would have loved to have made that team automatically, but relying on a pick, obviously Monty had confidence in me," Donald said. "That gives me confidence in itself. Saying that I haven't really changed the way I've been practicing or anything like that. I feel like I've had a pretty solid year, and I'm just kind of continuing that trend."