Northwestern University Athletics
Luke Donald Gets Exemption to PGA's Buick Challenge
9/16/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 16, 1999
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern?s Luke Donald has earned an exemption to play in the Buick Challenge in Pine Mountain, Ga. The PGA Tour event will take place at Callaway Gardens Resort from September 30 to October 3. The tournament, which will be broadcast on ESPN, was won by Steve Elkington in 1998 and boasted a field rated the 13th best of the PGA year.
Donald, who won the NCAA Championship in June, will also be awarded the Fred Haskins Trophy as the nation?s top collegiate golfer at a dinner on Thursday, September 30.
?I?m very excited to play in my first professional U.S. event,? said Donald, who played in the British Open this past summer. ?I wish to thank the people who run the Buick Challenge for giving me this opportunity. The experience I will obtain in events such as these will only help me become a better collegiate player.?
Donald, fresh off his role in leading Great Britain and Ireland to victory in the Walker Cup, is playing with his Wildcat teammates in the Ping/Golfweek NCAA Preview from September 19-21 in Auburn, Ala. The event features 18 of the nation?s top golf schools and will be played at Grand National?s Lake Course, the site of the 2000 NCAA Men?s Golf Championship.
?I?m eager to begin my junior year at Northwestern,? continued Donald. ?I love Northwestern, collegiate golf and the camaraderie of my teammates. As I?ve stated before, I fully intend on staying in school and playing for Northwestern for the next two years.?
