Donald can be a Masters threat - Westwood

Lee Westwood and Luke Donald during the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor. Picture Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ieWorld No 3 Luke Donald believes his stunning Accenture Match Play victory could open the “floodgates” to multiple wins and a shot at major glory.

And Ryder Cup partner Lee Westwood reckons that short game wizard Donald is more than capable of posing a major threat to his Masters ambitions at Augusta next month.

Impressed by Donald’s dominant World Golf Championship triumph, Westwood said: “He’s possibly the kind of guy who could be a contender for the Masters.

“You can’t not see him as a major contender. His greatest asset is that he hasn’t got any weaknesses.

“I wasn’t surprised by his win in Tucson because already knew what Luke is capable of doing. He never makes many mistakes, he’s reliable from tee to green and he putts lovely.

“He’s probably the best out of the bunkers too. It’s a pretty good combination.”

Set to clash with Westwood in this week’s Honda Classic, Donald hopes he can make winning a habit and improve on last year’s dismal form in the majors.

Setting his sights on a grand slam title, Donald said: “Hopefully I gain a lot of confidence from it and I go on to win more events.

“Like every year, the goal is to win tournaments and to try and win majors.

“The most disappointing thing about last season was I didn’t really contend in a major, I didn’t really have a chance.

“And hopefully this added confidence will just give me a little bit extra to compete in majors and have more chances and hopefully pick up a major.”

Donald’s first US win for five years saw him leap six spots to world No 3.

And world No 2 Westwood believes Donald has the kind of all round game that could make him a serious threat at Augusta.

Second best to Phil Mickelson at Augusta last year, Westwood said: “Luke’s got a good all around game and he’s got to three in the world.

“Yes, he was criticised for not winning a huge amount. But winning is a habit.”

Europeans won 11 Masters between 1980 and 1999, when Jose Maria Olazabal captured the title for the second time.

And Westwood reckons it’s only a matter of time before Europeans start to dominate at Augusta again.

Pointing to European dominance in the world rankings, Westwood said: “We have got enough world class players now from Europe that we ought to be contending and winning more I guess.

“There is no reason not to see European winning again at Augusta over the next few years as we were in the ’80s and early ’90s.”