Golf: For the sixth major in a row Luke Donald will go into next week's Open Championship as world number one. None of the previous five, of course, has led to the outcome he wanted — and nor did any of the 31 he played before that.

In a bid to change things at Royal Lytham and so become England’s first winner of a major since Nick Faldo in 1996, Donald is determined to take a more relaxed attitude. The 34-year-old, who first of all will try to defend his Scottish Open title at Castle Stuart, could not have been more impressed by Roger Federer — “so calm and collected” — when he watched his semi-final win over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last Friday.

He also saw Andy Murray beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and on the Scot’s bid to end his Grand Slam duck Donald commented: “He’s made a very conscious effort not to get so down on himself. When I’m playing I’m laughing and joking, but I’ve realised that (at majors) I do get a little bit more anxious, a little bit more uptight, a little bit more agitated.

“People around me notice it. I’ve got to try and control that and that’s going to be the priority — go out there and try to play with a little bit more freedom, a little bit more fun. I’ve realised it for a while and it’s just a constant process of trying to work on that and improve every time.

“It’s got to come from me. Obviously I work with (mental coach) Dave Alfred, but that’s more about going through the process of being diligent about my practice and practising efficiently.”

Donald knows that winning a major is the one thing missing from his career — and it would certainly help someone like Kylie Minogue know who he is. They sat next to each other at lunch before going into the Royal Box, but the Australian star needed her boyfriend to tell her that Donald was a golfer.

“She was a sweet girl actually — really genuinely nice girl, down to earth and I enjoyed chatting to her a little bit,” he said.

After winning the Scottish title last July — and doing it with a closing 63 that was the lowest round of his European Tour career — Donald went to Sandwich and missed the cut. He also made an early exit from last month’s US Open, but while the first of those he put down to a poor short game he felt his ball-striking let him down in San Francisco.

He said: “I got a little bit caught up in trying to hit the right shot, but I didn’t strike it very well and that made me a bit anxious.”