Luke Donald on top of the world as he aims for happy return to Sandwich

LUKE Donald shouldn't be hard pressed to hit a better opening shot this week than the world No 1 managed on the last occasion the Open Championship rolled into Royal St George's.

The Englishman, in fact, knows exactly how shocking that effort, which resulted in Tiger Woods losing his ball, was eight years ago, having been tossed in at the deep end as he made his first appearance as a professional in the world's oldest major.

And, though Donald doesn't let his guard down very often about anything, he was certainly entertaining when asked to recount his memories of 2003 ahead of his much-anticipated return to the Kent course this week. "I played with T Woods and S Garcia for the first two days. I was shoved in deep. I was up and coming but had not really proved myself too much. I won a tournament at the end of 2002 in the US but, yeah, they put me in with a pretty high-profile group," he said. "One thing I remember is my brother (Christian, who was caddying], the bag strap broke on the 10th hole and he was carrying it like a suitcase. It wasn't the greatest pairing to be a part of during that but it was kind of a fun moment. There wasn't much else fun about it."

If that was mildly embarrassing to Donald, imagine how the world's best player must have felt as he found himself heading back to the first tee to reload in the wake of a fruitless search after he'd carved his opening drive of the championship into thick rough and couldn't find it.

"This guy's rubbish," joked Donald of seeing that blow at close quarters. "I was pretty inexperienced then and it made my drive a little bit easier once he hit it way right. I thought, well, I can't do any worse than that. I think I hit it down the left fringe or something. I wasn't on the short stuff." Woods certainly wasn't. "I had my foot on his ball, what can I tell you," added a smiling Donald of the ensuing search. "I think I was staying out of the way actually. The crowds were quite far back so only a few people were looking for the ball, I suppose. But it was still a big zoo. It was a strange scenario - I think that's the only ball he's ever lost."

While the injured Woods is absent, Donald is heading back to Sandwich as a leading contender. He can't wait and has every reason to feel confident he can do much better than the rounds of 76 and 79 that resulted in him missing the cut by five shots last time around.

"It's different," he said of this week. "You wake up with butterflies in your stomach. It's a special feeling seeing all of those stands out there. There's no other finishing hole like it at a tournament anywhere in the world, the big yellow clock, everything synonymous with an Open Championship. It's very special.

"[I've got] eight years more experience dealing with tournaments, dealing with pressure, and knowing that even if I don't produce my best golf, I've become a lot more patient. I think I would get very anxious and press too hard if I didn't quite have my game and get frustrated easily. Now if I hit a few poor shots and make a couple of bogeys, I don't really get flustered. I know some birdies are coming."

Despite being the No 1, Donald won't be the centre of attention this week. All eyes will be on Rory McIlroy as the young Ulsterman makes his first appearance since running away with the US Open last month. "It doesn't change what I'm doing," said Donald in reply to being asked if constant questions about a player below him in the rankings was irritating. "With a 22-year-old winning a major and winning it so successfully, it deserves the attention.

"I still feel like I have a lot to achieve and I understand why some people would question whether I deserve to be No 1 without a major. But it really does little to deflect from what I'm trying to do, what I've accomplished and how I got there. It was a pretty special thing to do.

"I'm not a flashy player. I get it done and sometimes do it the hard way. But, in the last three or four months, no-one has really performed better than me. But sometimes when you win a major like Rory did in that fashion, it eclipses people's memories. They think in the last few tournaments."

The attention on McIlroy may work in Donald's favour as he bids to add a major to his CV. "I might be able to go under the radar," he noted. "There will be more pressure on Rory, I suppose. Everyone expects great things out of him after what he did at the US Open, so hopefully I can go out there and get on with business and play well."