Donald getting back into the swing of things

Dec 20, 2008 - 12:35 AM By John Reger PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

THOUSAND OAKS, California (Ticker) - While most golfers are winding down their seasons at the Chevron World Challenge, Luke Donald feels like his season is just beginning.

Donald was forced to sit out the last five months with a left wrist injury that had been nagging the English golfer for most of the year but flared up at the U.S. Open in June.

"It's a somewhat common injury in the non-dominant hand in sports that involves swinging," Donald said.

"I think Jason Giambi had the exact same problem. I'm not sure if there's any golfers that had exactly that same problem, but it just happens when the wrist rotates many, many times over many years, it just wears itself down a little bit."

The wrist had been bothering Donald for a while, but it became unbearable at the U.S. Open. He shot rounds of 71, 71 and 78 before withdrawing in the final round.

"It came out of the blue," Donald said. "At the Open was the first time I felt a little bit of soreness in the area. Standing on the 15th tee, I hit a tee shot just off the tee and felt something go."

The tendon sheath in his wrist was torn and, for a couple of months, Donald tried to heal it without surgery. By August, he made the decision to undergo surgery.

Donald returned to golf last week at the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa and is back at the tournament he won in 2005.

"This is an enjoyable event for me. It's great to be back here playing again, not just because I haven't played, but to be a part of this event," Donald said. "It means you're still one of the top elite players in the game."

Donald certainly has had enough chances to test the durability of the wrist. He played in a steady drizzle in the Pro-Am on Wednesday and in the cold, soggy conditions of Thursday's opening round.

That matters little to Donald, who is just happy to be back playing.

"The wrist is fully healed," Donald said. "I played last week at Nedbank and had no trouble with it at all and I'm glad to be back playing again and playing in competitions. It seems to be 100 percent better."

It was tough for Donald to sit out of two major championships and the Ryder Cup.

"I think all three were hard to miss," Donald said. "I think any time you miss majors it's difficult and to be injured during a Ryder Cup year was disappointing, too. I would have loved to helped Europe retain the Cup. I watched every shot."

It was the first time in his career he had spent any substantial time away from golf.

"I tried to use the time productively as much as possible, not really mull on the fact that I was injured and I couldn't play and not feel sorry for myself," Donald said.

"I tried to think about what I needed to do to become a better player in that time off, what I needed to work on, when I was able to start hitting golf balls."

Though this event will be a tune up for Donald, he expects to play a full schedule on both the European and PGA Tours.

"I've always tried to support both tours," Donald said. "With everything that's going on in the world right now with the economic crisis, I think certain other players that haven't played in Europe are heavily considering it."

Donald's first event on the PGA Tour will be the Sony Open in mid-January and he plans to play 12 to 14 events in both Europe and the U.S.

With his career slightly interrupted, Donald is now ready to resume his promising career.

"I know my best golf is as good as anyone's golf at the right time," Donald said. "This has obviously been an interesting few months, and I've been able to take a step back and see what I need to improve.

"We'll have to see how 2009 comes, but I'm excited to hopefully have a great year."