European Masters: In golf a good long one always beats a good short one. When Luke Donald arrived in America some six years ago he was just a good short one.

There was no doubt he was extremely talented but equally that he would struggle playing the type of course often found in America - long and wet.

Fortunately for him, the young Englishman recognised the problem and set about solving it. His reward came on Sunday in Munich when the Ryder Cup captain Bernhard Langer selected him for his team to face the United States at Oakland Hills in a fortnight.

It will be a debut that fulfils a prediction. When Donald first played in the Walker Cup at Nairn in 1999 he and another debutant in this year's Ryder Cup team, Paul Casey, played foursomes together.

They were quickly five up and a spectator said to the captain, Peter McEvoy: "These two should be in the Ryder Cup team," to which came the reply: "They soon will be." Now they are and they could well be paired together again.

Donald left his Beaconsfield home for Northwestern University in Chicago, where he decided he needed more distance off the tee. Yesterday, preparing for the European Masters, he said: "I did a lot of work on flexibility and a lot of strength work too. I put on some weight and, with the help of technology, I've gone from averaging 240 yards to around 285, which is about average on the US Tour."

But Donald has been careful, not to lose a priceless asset - his natural accuracy. He is one of the straightest off the tee in all America.

As a former number one amateur in college golf he has chosen to make most of his living on the US Tour, where he ranks 30th in driving accuracy, hitting 65 per cent of fairways, and lies 142nd in driving distance, with an average of 281 yards.

The statistic to which the professionals pay most heed, however, is greens in regulation, indicating driving that is adequate and shots to the green that are accurate.

Donald hits just over 70 per cent of his greens, making him 12th best in that category on the US Tour.

Similar statistics applied to one European player at his peak, a player with the wonderful Ryder Cup record of having played 42 games in 10 matches and being undefeated in 27 of them. That was Langer.

First, however, Donald must tackle the spectacular Crans-sur-Sierre course high in the Swiss mountains, where he must adjust to the fact altitude will make his shots fly further.

Being drawn with the big-hitting Els, and Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell, could well give Donald an inferiority complex in the driving distance stakes but he is not too bothered by that.

"Playing against Ernie I am sure you will see him well past me this week but as long as the fairways have a little run in them I can get the ball far enough," he said.

"It's a beautiful place - there are no venues in the US where you look around and see snow-capped mountains. The only other place (at altitude) is Denver, which is one mile up, and this is a little bit more but similar. It adds about 10 per cent (to the length of shots)."

Els is trying to become only the second person since Seve Ballesteros to successfully defend the title and has arrived at the course in a relaxed mood after taking some time off after admitting he struggled for motivation at the NEC Invitational in the US.

"I haven't played too much, especially last week on my week off," he said.

"I just spent some time at home watching the Olympics and I went to the Belgian Grand Prix.

"But I felt good today, I hit it nice and my swing feels nice. I'm looking forward to playing again.

"If it hadn't been the NEC I wouldn't have played. I haven't felt like that in four years - I wasn't there.

"But I feel I want to play well and win this week and that is my motivation."