Darren Clarke: Luke Donald’s money list double won’t be repeated
Sports records are meant to be broken, but the way Darren Clarke sees it, Luke Donald can rest easy knowing his money list double will never be matched.
"You look at Rory and the way he's been playing, and what he did at the US Open," the British Open champion told BBC Sport. "And you've got Luke, who finished number one in the money list in the United States and Europe. I don't think that will be done again. What Luke achieved was monumental."
These days, it seems like almost every record in golf is up for grabs as technology continues to make courses obsolete. But looking at Donald's body of work last season and what he accomplished on both tours, it's hard to see anyone matching his record in the future.
The Englishman won the European Tour money list title by playing the minimum number of events (13) required to be a full-time membership, finishing outside the top 10 only once. And with the exception of missed cuts at the British Open and Northern Trust, Donald only finished outside the top 10 on the PGA Tour on three occasions ... and one of those was a T-45 at the U.S. Open.
The funny thing is even though he was absolutely on for almost the entire year, he still had to play an extra PGA Tour tournament (Disney) to fend off a late charge from Webb Simpson. Looking at how consistent, and dedicated, Donald had to be to win both, you have to wonder in an era where money is at an all-time high if winning the double would be a big deal to some of the tour's top players.
It was to Donald, but the thought of only being able to match the mark might be enough to deter someone else from giving it a go late in the season. Maybe Luke really can breathe a sigh of relief.
