Luke Donald hopes to manage Major expectations

Luke Donald admits he needs to learn to deal with expectation better if he’s to ever break his Major drought.

The Englishman was awarded honorary life membership of the European Tour yesterday, the latest of a string of accolades he’s picked up following a stellar 2011, which included scaling the top of the rankings and in the process becoming the first player to top the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic.

However, there’s still a gap on his mantlepiece for the biggest prize of all, and Donald is under no illusions of what he needs to do to fill it.

“I think at the Majors there is more expectation, there’s more pressure. It’s learning to deal with that,” the world No.2 said. “I’m learning that I get more uptight at Majors. I want to win it so badly that sometimes that gets in the way and it’s learning to relax and deal with that.”

The ‘big four’ trophies have been spread around the field of late with last month’s Masters champion Bubba Watson the eighth first-time Major winner in a row.

Donald, though, has been unable to capitalise, and he said: “I’m not going to shy away from it. That’s the one thing missing - I want to win Majors.”