Donald Is Comfortable With No. 1 Status - New York Times

“Roundabouts,” he replied. “Too many stoplights here. Roundabouts is the way forward.”

It figures that Donald, a headliner this week at the Northern Trust Open, would prefer the more circuitous route. His career is a tribute to the efficacy of the indirect path.

Donald, 34, did not burst onto the world scene in his teens like Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who won his first PGA Tour event at the age of 20. He did not accelerate from college star to No. 1 in the world in six seconds flat like Tiger Woods.

Last year Donald supplanted another Englishman, Lee Westwood, as the top-ranked player on the planet in circuitous fashion: without first having won a major. While he is 0 for 34 in the four tournaments that matter most to historians, Donald, a former Northwestern standout, did carve out a special place in the sport’s lore in 2011 by becoming the first player to top the money list on both the PGA and European Tours.

The deftness shown by Donald in producing four victories while straddling two continents was impressive, his margin of error being as small as a blip on an air traffic controller’s radar screen. His feat was all the more remarkable given the personal turbulence he had to weather.

In roughly a month’s time, Donald secured the PGA Tour money title with a come-from-behind victory in the finale in Florida, mourned the passing of his father, Colin, welcomed his second daughter with his wife, Diane, and traveled overseas to lock up the European money crown with a third-place finish in Dubai.

“Those couple weeks were very tough,” Donald said. “I think the birth of my second daughter helped shed a little bit of grace on the whole situation. It helped with the passing of my father. I think I came out of it a stronger person with a little bit more perspective.”

Colin Donald, the son of a scratch golfer, introduced the game to his son and took pride in Donald’s ascension to the pinnacle of his sport. Donald said his father, who died of heart failure, had struggled with health problems in the last couple of years of his life. After undergoing surgery on both knees, he developed an addiction to painkillers, Donald said, “and that led into a little depression.” He added, “It was tough.”

Donald’s father imbued him with a self-belief that fueled his rise to No. 1 and now insulates him from the slings and arrows of his many critics who question whether he can be a worthy king without a major crown.

“I think the best part of being No. 1 is knowing that my best golf is good enough to get me to that No. 1 spot, just from a confidence and mental standpoint,” Donald said. “That’s gratifying to know that the hard work is paying off.”

And the worst part of being No. 1? “I suppose the slight added burden of expectation,” he said. “But I feel like I’ve dealt with that pretty well so far.”

Most golfers aspire to be No. 1 but not everybody desires the responsibilities that come with it. A few years back, Woods was in the midst of his 281-consecutive-week reign at No. 1, one of Donald’s former instructors asked him if he wanted to be No. 1.

“Not really,” he said. “I don’t want to deal with that amount of media on me.”

Fred Couples felt similarly in 1992 when he became the fifth golfer, and first American, to ascend to No. 1 in the world rankings. He held the title before he won his only major, at the 1992 Masters, and he spoke of feeling as if he was in an “awkward spot.” As he explained at the time, “I am very shy. I just don’t like going around and telling everybody what I do and how I do it because I’m playing good.”

Couples shrank from the spotlight. What helped Donald decide to embrace it was seeing Westwood ascend to the throne without losing his common touch.

“I was reasonably friendly with Lee,” he said, “and saw that his life really didn’t change that much. I felt more comfortable that if I was to ever get to No. 1, then a similar thing would happen to me.”

Donald seems at ease with his game and his stature and himself, as well he should, Couples said. “He’s the No. 1 player because he plays very consistent and wins,” he said. “Because he hasn’t won a major I don’t think throws anything off. He plays well every week.”

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