European Tour Members Luke Donald and Thongchai Jaidee had good reason to celebrate in China when they were named respectively Johnnie Walker Young Golfer of the Year and Johnnie Walker Asian Golfer of the Year for 2004.
Both were presented with their awards at a Gala Dinner held in The Great Hall of the People in Beijing’’s Tiananmen Square during the Johnnie Walker Classic, currently being held at the Pine Valley Golf Resort & Country Club.
Donald won his maiden European Tour title in August 2004 when he claimed the Scandinavian Masters by Carlsberg title in Sweden and followed that four weeks later with his second European Tour win, holding off a strong chasing pack that included Miguel Angel Jimenez and Sergio Garcia to win the Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
On the strength of those two wins, Donald was chosen by European Captain Bernhard Langer alongside Colin Montgomerie as one of his two ‘Wild Cards’’ for The Ryder Cup against the Americans at Oakland Hills in Detroit in September 2004.
He was an integral part of Europe’’s record 18 ½ - 9 ½ victory when he claimed 2 ½ points out of four on his debut, in particular forming an irresistible partnership with Sergio Garcia, winning both their fourball and foursomes match in tandem.
He also ended the year in style, partnering Paul Casey as England won the WGC -World Cup at the Real Club de Golf in Seville in November.
On The European Tour, Donald finished 20th on the Order of Merit, a career high, and also moved from outside the top 120 in the world at the start of the year to 28th on the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of December 2004.
Jaidee enjoyed his best season to date in 2004, claiming the Carlsberg Malaysian Open, which made him the first Thai winner on The European Tour. He also had five top tens in nine starts on the Asian Tour to claim his second Asian Tour Order of Merit in four years with record winnings of US$381,929.
It was the second time in three years that Jaidee picked up the award – the first time being in 2002 – and he admitted he was delighted. “I am honoured to receive this award again,” he said. “My year’’s highlight was probably winning in Malaysia where I holed in one on the final day – a shot that was later voted RBS Shot of the Month for February.”
