• USPGA Championship

Donald doesn't expect Tiger to be a factor

Luke Donald hopes to perform better in his latest major as world No. 1 © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Return to health the key to victory - Woods
  
• News: US PGA Championship is made for my game - McIlroy
  
• Out of Bounds: Don't ignore the rest of the world
  
• The Betting Bunker: Johnson on path to Atlanta redemption
  
• News: Relaxed Westwood to 'let it flow'
  
• News: Scott backs Williams after Tiger dig
  
• News: Williams stands by victory comments
  
• News: McIlroy feels Williams went too far
  
• Profile: Luke Donald | Tiger Woods

World No. 1 Luke Donald does not expect 14-time major champion Tiger Woods to be a contender at the USPGA Championship this week, as the American continues his return from injury.

Woods missed three months of action due to severe injuries to his right knee, only returning for last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club - where he finished in a tie for 37th. Donald, who had to recover from his own wrist problems in 2008, warns from personal experience that comebacks can take a long time to complete.

"It is very difficult to come off a layoff from injury. When I did it, when I injured my wrist, getting back into competition was completely different to hitting balls on the range," Donald said. "You can feel very comfortable on the range, and getting back into that competitive mode is tough. It might take a little bit of time.

"From what I heard, he found a lot of positives in his game, but obviously it's not where he wanted to be. He wanted to win that tournament. That was his goal.

"It's going to take some time, I think. It would surprise me if he went on and won in the next couple of weeks, just because coming off that injury, personally, for myself was very difficult, and I think everyone's going to feel the same way."

Having missed the cut in his last major outing at the Open Championship, Donald concedes that perhaps he has not always found the right balance in his approach to the biggest tournaments since becoming the world's top-ranked player - something he hopes to rectify this week.

"For sure, there's more pressure," he said. "You feel a little bit more uptight, and sometimes it's harder to let it go and just kind of play the way you know how to play. But it's very hard.

"There's a hard balance between not trying and obviously putting in some effort to give it your best. It's a fine line."

Donald does not like the length of some of the par threes - particularly the 265-yard monster 15th - but is otherwise encouraged by the Atlanta Athletic Club course.

"I probably would say that I am not a big fan of long par 3s, but the condition of the golf course is spectacular, and I think the way they have set it up is very, very good so far from what I've seen," he said. "The rough is Bermuda. It's sitting down a little bit, but you're going to get some fliers and not be able to control it and that's all that you need with Bermuda.

"I love the shaved areas into the bunkers and around the greens. I think it gives you more variety of short game shots. And again, the greens are very firm and very fast."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.