Boosted by his five-stroke win in Sweden two weeks ago Britain's Luke Donald sees no reason why he cannot make his presence felt at this week's USPGA Championship.

The last major of the season is important for lots of people for lots of reasons - and Donald has two of them.

Primarily, of course, the 26-year-old from High Wycombe wants to experience for the first time what it is like to be in contention for one of golf's top four trophies.

He has missed the cut in all five Opens he has played, has yet to make his Masters debut and his best performance in the other two was an 18th place on his one and only US Open appearance two years ago.

But even if he cannot get into the hunt at Whistling Straits on the banks of Lake Michigan every shot still matters. This is Ryder Cup countdown time.

"It is hard sometimes to put the Ryder Cup at the back of your mind, but my focus has got to be on just playing good golf," said Donald, still in with a chance of an automatic spot, but fully aware that good performances in the last three weeks of the race could earn him a wild card from captain Bernhard Langer.

The German has to have been impressed by the way Donald dominated the Scandinavian Masters, a victory that lifted him to 11th place on the European world points list.

Donald's problem, though, is that only five places are on offer from that list and as a member of the US Tour as well he has fallen way behind on the other Order of Merit points list from which the next five automatic places are decided.

But there is also one advantage he has over some of those he is trying to catch. He is in the field for next week's NEC World Championship in Ohio and they are not.

Unless they climb into the world's top 50 this week David Howell, seventh on the Order of Merit table, Ian Poulter (eighth), Jean-Francois Remesy (10th), Raphael Jacquelin (12th) and Brian Davis (13th) will all be on the sidelines for the penultimate counting event of the year-long European race.

That is because of the decision to award places in the multi-million pound tournament to members of the last Ryder Cup team - the one chosen in 2001 remember - rather than the leaders of the current tables.

The decision helps not only Donald, but also the likes of Colin Montgomerie, Paul McGinley, Phillip Price and Jesper Parnevik, all of whom are trying to force their way back into the side.

Poulter has already spoken out about the situation.

"It is a very awkward situation - I am in front of them and last place in that tournament is 25,000 dollars (it could even be more)," he said. "It would not be hard for them to put four half-decent rounds together and go past me when I am sitting at home and can do nothing about it.

"I have not felt too much pressure yet, but I would be absolutely devastated if I did not make it. It will not please me to see other people playing and me watching at home."

Poulter, Howell and the others have the power to do something about it this week, but the pressure is on them to perform and they will have to do so not only against the best in the world, but on the longest course ever used for a major and, it is generally agreed, one of the toughest.