Sports

Golfer Luke Donald hoping for major fix

It’s the most backhanded title in golf, and Luke Donald can surely stake claim to being the best player never to have won a major championship.

The gaping hole in the career of Donald, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, was magnified last week at the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, where he shot 79-72 and missed the cut by three shots.

“It was very disappointing, coming in with high expectations and feeling confident,” Donald told The Post Thursday before heading to the Ralph Lauren store on Madison Avenue, an appearance in support of one of his major sponsors, along with one of the charities closest to him, The First Tee.

“The U.S. Open always is difficult,” the 34-year-old Englishman said. “Every mistake is magnified. I wasn’t swinging well enough. So it’s disappointing, but you always have to learn and I’ll have more chances.”

Donald clearly thinks about the chances that have gone by the wayside in his 33 starts in majors since turning pro in 2001. After four years as an All-American at Northwestern, 13 professional wins, and two simultaneous money titles on both sides of the Atlantic last year, Donald has begun to touch on a theory of why majors have been his bugaboo.

“You can’t really change your approach mentally,” Donald said. “Maybe that’s a place I have to improve on. ’’With mistakes being so penalized in a major, maybe I’ve played a little too conservatively, too safe, and not played my game. That’s something I can work on.”

For over a year now, Donald has employed a man named Dave Alred, who after spending decades working with rugby stars in England has begun to spread out under the guise of “performance coach.”

Donald said he would by no means call Alred a psychologist — the likes of which many players on tour employ — but instead he is there to help improve the focus on playing at the highest level under the most intense pressure.

“You can’t just go home and start dreaming and play great the next day,” Donald said. “It has to be from inside you. You can’t just find more confidence, it comes by having those past successes. I hope I can lean on some of mine in the future.”

His next chance will be the British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes starting July 19.

“All I can do is continue to prepare and work on each part of my game and try to create more chances for myself,” Donald said. “Hopefully I’ll run into one soon enough.”