Golf: Welshman Jamie Donaldson given US PGA membership

Jamie Donaldson has accepted a special temporary US PGA Tour membership for the remainder of the season.

The Welshman shared second place at last week's World Golf Championships event at Doral, picking up $763,000.

That result means Donaldson is eligible for membership because he has overtaken the lowest US PGA playoff qualifiers' points total from last season.

Donaldson, 39, twice a winner on the European Tour, leads that series' Race to Dubai standings.

It means the Welshman has an early advantage in qualifying for the European Ryder Cup team who defend their title against the USA in Gleneagles in September.

"There's a long way to go [before the Ryder Cup]," said Donaldson.

"There's a lot of good tournaments to play before then, but the good news is I'm playing well in the tournaments to keep the rankings - but I've got a lot of goals apart from that."

"It would be great to play in the [European Ryder Cup] team obviously, but I just need to keep playing well and just do the best I can.

"I've secured my [US] Tour card for next year, but I won't decide until the end of this year if I'm coming back."