PGA Tour Notebook: Donald not on Norman's radar as game's top player

Luke Donald has been No. 1 in the world since the end of May. He has won four times around the world, and he likely will be voted PGA Tour Player of the Year.

Apparently, that’s still not enough to get on Greg Norman’s radar screen.

Norman was asked this week who he thought was the best player in the world regardless of the world ranking.

“I’m going through three or four players right now. That’s how tough it is,” Norman said. “I don’t think there is one guy out there like Tiger used to be out there, and that’s again a testament of the validation of why I think the game of golf is so good right now.”

He mentioned Martin Kaymer, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Ryo Ishikawa.

“I’m going down the list and I’m missing out on guys,” Norman said before going on to mention the swing of PGA Champion Keegan Bradley. “You go down this list and all of a sudden now I’m at 10 players.”

He never once mentioned the guy at the top: Donald.

WORLD-CLASS WINNERS: Perhaps no other tournaments in the world offer better odds of getting a high-ranked winner than the World Golf Championships. They usually invited the top 50 players, although three of them also have lesser-known players from other tours. Even so, Martin Kaymer strengthened the trend by winning the HSBC Champions.

In the 13-year history of the series, only four players ranked outside the top 50 have won a World Golf Championship.

Geoff Ogilvy was No. 53 when he won the Accenture Match Play Championship in 2006 at La Costa.

Kevin Sutherland was No. 65 when he won the 2002 Match Play at La Costa. Steve Stricker was No. 91 when he won the 2001 Match Play in Australia, the event where some two dozen top players stayed home.

Craig Parry is the only player outside the top 100 to win a WGC, at No. 118 when he captured the 2002 NEC Invitational at Sahalee.

MATCH PLAY CROWD: The WGC-Accenture Match Play is trying to give fans a better view of the final match in Arizona by allowing fans to walk in the fairway behind the players.

It’s a practice often seen at the U.S. Amateur, Walker Cup and Curtis Cup matches. When Tiger Woods played the Australian Masters, officials allowed the overflow of fans to line the fairways some 75 yards from each green, creating a stadium feeling.

At Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz., marshals will hold ropes that keep the fans 40 feet behind the players down the fairway, though they will be kept away from greenside bunkers.

DIVOTS: The Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico, held opposite the Match Play Championship, has extended its title sponsorship through 2018. … Mark Calcavecchia has his own special “cocktail” to deal with an ailing hip. He takes one Celebrex before he leaves his hotel room and one Vicodin on the practice range. That gets him through 15 holes, and he just toughs out the last three. “That’s only on tournament days,” he said. “Pro-ams and practice rounds I tough it out.” … With so much success by European players this year, the cover of its media guide will stick to the major champions. Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy and British Open champion Darren Clarke recently posed for a photo. Left out is Luke Donald, the No. 1 player in the world.

STAT OF THE WEEK: Europeans will have held the No. 1 ranking for an entire season for the first time since Nick Faldo in 1993. Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Luke Donald all have been at No. 1 in the world this year.

FINAL WORD: “Maybe it’s just I’m so used to hitting so many bad shots.” -- Tiger Woods, when asked about controlling his temper on the golf course.