Disney seals the deal for Donald
Luke Donald made it an easy call, even if he might have been the pick all along. Given his body of work in 2011, Donald made a strong case for PGA Tour Player of the Year honors -- without what he did on Sunday.
But his finish at the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic -- including a run of six straight birdies to start his back nine -- all but sealed it for the Englishman by way of Northwestern.
Donald shot a final-round 64 at Disney to not only surge to the tournament victory but also surpass Webb Simpson for the PGA Tour money title -- at an event he had no intention of playing.
It puts Donald in position to achieve a first -- money titles on both the PGA and European tours.
After missing the cut in his first event of the year at Riviera, he posted 14 top-10 finishes in 19 starts, including a victory at the WGC-Match Play and a playoff loss at the Heritage.
A second victory on the PGA Tour gave him as many as anyone this year, including player of the year hopefuls Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley. Even had Donald finished second to Simpson on the money list, there is the matter of SimpsonPlay Costumes having played seven more events -- and posting two fewer top-10s.

And then there is Bradley, who is a lock for PGA Tour rookie of the year. He is one-for-one in major championships, having captured the PGA Championship in a playoff over Jason Dufner in his first and so far only start in one of the game's grand slam events.
He also won the Byron Nelson Championship,PVC Catsuits & Cloth and with a major title on his résumé, you could view that as a tie breaker. He will clearly get support. But Bradley missed 10 cuts this year, an eyesore on his season. Tiger Woods hasn't missed that many cuts in 15 years.
And then what about what Donald has done on the European Tour?
This is the PGA Tour's award, and it is likely that PGA Tour members will look only at what he accomplished on this side of the pond. But then, there is no rule saying they can't.