Donald too 'burned out' to give best
Luke Donald, a model of consistency in his recent climb to world No 1, said on Sunday a busy schedule left him too burned out to give his best at this week's US Open.
Donald registered 15 top-10s from his last 16 tournaments worldwide and played four consecutive weeks heading into the US Open at Congressional Country Club.
"The last six or seven weeks has taken a lot out of me," said the 33-year-old Briton, who shot a final-round 69 but finished on five-over-par 289, 21 strokes behind runaway winner Rory McIlroy.
"I've certainly been in contention a lot, played a lot of golf in different countries, different time zones, and I probably haven't got my energy levels quite back up to where I would have liked them to be at the beginning of this week."
Donald, still seeking his first major title, plays on both the US and European PGA Tours and would like to find ways to recharge during season.
He said he will now take two weeks off, including a six-day vacation in Italy with his wife, before returning to action for the July 7-10 Scottish Open.
"It's hard when you play both tours to try and get a good balance of finding those rest periods," said Donald. "I guess the focus should be around the majors."
Donald applauded the record-breaking performance by Northern Irishman McIlroy at Congressional but said it was too early to cede world dominance to the 22 year old, who became the championship's youngest winner since 1923.
"He has probably the most talent I've ever seen from a golfer. Lovely to watch him play, such a fluid motion, and he hits it far," said Donald.
"He's not quite dominating the game yet ... But he'll be a tough force to reckon with. He's going to be high on confidence, and he's already got the game to beat anyone."
Asked if McIlroy's performance was inspiring or demoralising, Donald said: "It's both. You know, certainly I think if I had my best golf, I could get close to that.
"In a way it's inspiring just because as a golfer it's nice to know you have that full control that he's had over the last three days. It doesn't happen very often, and it's a good feeling to have."