World number one
Luke Donald is currently preparing to defend his title at the WGC - Accenture Match Play event in the Arizona desert next week, the very location that signalled the start of his sensational season last year.
The 34-year-old Englishman stormed to victory at the Ritz-Carlton
Golf Club at Dave Mountain in 2011 before establishing himself at the top of the world rankings and making history as the first ever player to claim the money lists in both Europe and the US.
"To come here and play against the best players in the world and to win in the fashion I did gave me a huge amount of confidence," he commented at a press gathering on Monday (February 13th).
"Certainly it will be tough to match that, but I'll give it my best shot this year," he added.
A matter of weeks after his Accenture Match Play victory last year, Donald triumphed over compatriot
Lee Westwood in a nail-biting play-off round at the BMW PGA Championship event that saw him named world number one.
Following his Barclays Scottish Open title win, the hugely talented professional claimed his fourth victory at the Children's Miracle Classic, where he shot six birdies on the back nine to top the US money list.
Meanwhile, colourful Swedish player Joel Sjoholm is said to be eyeing a win at the upcoming Avantha Masters in India - which is set to kick off tomorrow - after landing an impressive top-ten finish in last week's Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The 26-year-old went up against some of the biggest names in the world at the event, including world number two and three respectively Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy, as well as Germany's Martin Kaymer and champion Rafael Cabrera-Bello.
He enjoyed two notable rounds of 66 between a 71 and 72, allowing him to gain more recognition after graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2010, with fans from around the world congratulating his performance via social networking website Twitter.
"Most of the reaction I've had from people has been about my outfits and I'm glad about that because the outfits are really for the fans," Sjoholm commented. "Hopefully they start to recognise me now because a lot of people were talking about me last week."
The talented professional went on to say he is looking to improve his game for this weekend's tournament, which is set to take place at the DLF Golf and Country Club in New Delhi.
