Jay Townsend - May 29, 2012

• By Morning Drive Team
• May 29, 2012 7:18 AM ET

Luke Donald became the third player along with Colin Montgomerie and Nick Faldo to successfully defend his BMW PGA Championship title and he did it in style on a renovated West Course at Wentworth. Donald has been able to step it up in terms of the World Ranking and for the second straight year took the #1 spot with his win at Wentworth.

In his opinion, McIlroy’s swing is built on timing and that produces a lot of power. While many were not surprised that he missed the cut in THE PLAYERS, many were surprised that he missed the cut in the BMW PGA Championship because his game sets up very well for Wentworth. The timing in his swing is a little off and as his U.S. Open title defense approaches, the pressure will continue to build and the fact that Luke Donald has taken World #1 from him makes the pressure increase even more.

Darren Clarke has had to withdraw from the U.S. Open due to a groin injury and since his Open Championship win, he has not made a cut on the European Tour since September of 2011. No one can figure out the reason for his slump because by all accounts he is swinging well and is in good shape. Townsend theorized that Clarke achieved his dream by winning the Open Championship and now that he has achieved his main goal, he has nothing left in the tank so to speak.