Dreaming stops now for new-boy Donald

Luke Donald will get around 30 tournaments on the US PGA Tour this season in his quest to retain the card he won so impressively at last month's Qualifying School. With prize money spiralling every year in the States, Donald will need to earn in excess of the $406,352 (£282,200) required by Wood Austin to claim the 125th place on the money list and become the last player to retain his card automatically.

Donald, the 24-year-old from Beaconsfield who starred for Great Britain and Ireland in their last two Walker Cup victories, makes his debut as a full member of the US Tour at the Hawaiian Open this week. Donald turned professional last August and played seven events in the autumn on invitations, making three cuts and finishing 18th at the Canadian Open.

Eschewing the traditional apprenticeship in Europe, Donald has well and truly jumped into the deep end of world golf. While a victory in his rookie season remains a hope, retaining his card is the number one priority. "My motivation comes from not wanting to go back to the Qualifying School again," he said. "That's the most pressure I have ever felt playing golf."

It is a daunting assignment. Of last year's intake from the 2000 Qualifying School of 35, only 11 retained their cards by finishing in the top 125 on the money list. Two of those, Cameron Beckman and Garrett Willis, won an event apiece to ensure an early trip to Hawaii for this weekend's Mercedes Championship, the old Tournament of Champions.

Having finished tied for 23rd at the Qualifying School, Donald's immediate goal will be to move up in the re-ranking of the qualifiers which is done on the money list after the West Coast swing at the end of February. Last year, most of the higher re-ranked qualifiers ended up playing around 30 tournaments over the season and improved their chances of getting into the bigger events.

Per-Ulrik Johansson, the former Ryder Cup player, was one of the lucky 11 after finishing 97th on the money list with $510,488 (£354,500) from 29 events. The Swede kept a diary on his website (www.p-uj.com) and the helter-skelter nature of the opening of the season – and the challenge Donald now faces – was graphically illustrated.

Johansson got into the Accenture World Matchplay in Melbourne from his world ranking and reached the second round, making important cash that would hold him in good stead for the next few weeks. The following week he was in Tucson, where even in the desert there were weather delays and he missed the cut by one shot. He flew to the Hawaiian Open without a confirmed start, arrived to find he was in the event, but lasted only 36 holes again.

He missed the cut at his next four events but was more consistent after that and finished sixth at the Kemper Open and seventh at the Buick Challenge, his last event of the season, to keep his card. While celebratingChristmas with his family in Florida, Johansson wrote: "It's been an up and down year golfwise but on the whole I am happy to be back on the PGA Tour for 2002, knowing the courses and having options in terms of where to play. It will be great to choose my events rather than running round the country playing every possible event. I may even have the luxury of taking the odd week off."

Donald will base himself in Chicago, where he has been at university for the last four years. His prominence on the US college circuit has helped in gaining the odd invitation, such as for the Phoenix Open later this month in Scottsdale, which traditionally has a smaller field than other events. Paul Casey, the 2001 European rookie of the year, will also be playing as a former star on the Arizona State golf team.

Phoenix will also see the arrival of the latest American sensation, Ty Tryon. The 17-year-old also made it through the Qualifying School but will not become a full member of the Tour until he turns 18 on 2 June. In the meantime Tryon, who already has endorsements totalling more than $1 million, will play a limited number of events and possibly the odd tournament in Europe thanks to his agents, the International Management Group.

Last year Tryon, as an amateur at the Honda Classic, achieved something beyond even Tiger Woods by becoming the youngest player for 44 years to make the cut in a US Tour event. "Everybody used to say that golfers peak when they are 35," Tryon has said. "I may retire at 35."

Meanwhile, Nick Dougherty, Donald's Walker Cup partner at Sea Island, will make his debut as a full member of the European Tour at the Bell's South African Open in Durban this week against the likes of Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. While the 19-year-old protégé of Nick Faldo will be looking for the sort of confident start made by Justin Rose this time last year, when he was runner-up in both the South African events, Rose will be looking to go one better in the land of his birth.