Donald hopes disappear

Luke Donald saw his hopes of Masters glory nosedive horribly oday when he fell from joint leader to 11 behind.

After an opening 68 Donald was dreaming of becoming the first Augusta debutant to win since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 – and only the second since 1935 – but he crashed to a second round 77.

The 27-year-old, joint runner-up in the Players Championship two weeks ago, had shared top spot overnight with Ryder Cup team-mate David Howell and American cup player Chris DiMarco.

But while DiMarco marched to 10 under par with a second successive 67 Donald could not find a way to keep himself even in close touch.

Things started to go wrong when he went over the fourth green and then found a bunker on the seventh.

Both led to bogeys, but he was still well in the hunt until he bogeyed the 14th, lipping out from seven feet, double-bogeyed the short 16th and dropped another on the next.

Out in 37 worse was to follow. He bogeyed the 14th, put a six iron in the water on the 16th for a double-bogey five and then dropped another shot on the next.

Afterwards, however, he took positive thinking to a new level.

“I’m still in good shape,” said the 27-year-old after posting a halfway total of 145, one over.

“I didn’t play that badly, but I struggled on the greens and was a little bit in between clubs on the 16th.

“If I had been a little more tidy around the cup it would have been a decent round. I just need a couple of good ones now.”

Padraig Harrington, Europe’s leading player in the world, was making plans for an early return home, however, after he also shot 77.

It put the Dubliner on five over and that looked likely to be one too many.

Harrington has already pulled out of the Houston Open in two weeks’ time so he can spend more time with his father Paddy, battling cancer of the oesophagus.

“I don’t think I’ve taken that many putts in a round for a long time,” he said.

He also had a sore neck. “It was just on the range before I came out. I thought it would loosen up, but it was a bit of a struggle with the driver.”

On the same mark was Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, who had high hopes for his first appearance like Donald after finishing second in the Bay Hill Invitational three weeks ago.

McDowell needed something spectacular after his opening 79, but a 70 was not quite good enough it seemed.

“It took me a while to tune in,” said McDowell, who opened with a back nine 42.

“I had four three-putts in the first 10. Some of the pin placings were kind of daunting, but I really wanted to play two more rounds because it’s a lot of fun and a great course.”