Luke Donald in form to win first major

Luke Donald will have a much happier Christmas following his commanding victory in Japan last Sunday.

While Rory McIlroy’s poor form has dominated the headlines, Donald’s disappointing year has gone under the radar.

Having been World No 1 and won the money list on the European Tour and PGA Tour two years ago, Luke had high expectations to live up to.

He’ll feel he should have won a Major by now, and that pressure has probably made his game go backwards.

Luke was also trying to work on his game to get to that mythical next level. In doing so, he lost some of the consistency that took him to the top in the first place.

And he made a daft decision to go and play in Malaysia in March.

It was only three weeks before The Masters but he chased the big bucks and ended up missing a cut for the first time on the European Tour.

After that, Luke lost focus and momentum and it has taken most of the rest of the year to get it back.

A tie for fifth in Dubai two weeks ago hinted at a return to form, which he finally confirmed at the Dunlop Phoenix.

It’s the most prestigious tournament in Japan and he won it in real style, getting stronger as the week went on to win by six shots.

That will give him a lot of confidence and shows he’s on the right track again.

Luke has proved he can win events all over the world, but it’s all about the Majors now.

That weighs heavily on his shoulders and, what’s more, he’s often knocked himself out of contention before they’ve really got going.

I’m certain Luke would be mentally strong enough down the stretch, but he needs to put himself in position with nine holes to go.

It doesn’t matter if he was to lose a Major, as Adam Scott showed.

It’s about being in the situation and understanding how to handle yourself, and being stronger for that experience the next time.

Lee Westwood is another Englishman with Major success on his mind. He’s taken the logical step of getting caddie Billy Foster back on his bag.

The player-caddie relationship is so intimate that you need a strong allegiance.

Look at Phil Mickelson and ‘Bones’ Mackay. Some partnerships just feel right.

It was almost circumstantial how they split up in the first place, with Billy injuring his leg playing football and taking longer than expected to recover.

Lee moved his family to Florida and joined the PGA Tour this year, so it was only natural to have a slight dip in form.

He’s come so close in Majors before with Billy, and now everything is back in place for him to have a real crack next year.