(CNN) -- Luke Donald says he would happily trade his status as golf's best player for a haul of major titles as he prepares to battle for the U.S. Open crown.
On the eve of the tournament at Congressional Country Club, the Englishman admitted he would gladly swap his world number one tag for the four majors Phil Mickelson has to his name.
The left-handed American has been complimentary about Donald's form in the lead up to the U.S. Open and the 33-year-old says his consistency in 2011 has given him a real shot at landing his maiden major in Maryland.
"Certainly being No. 1 is a great achievement, but if you ask me if I would swap that for Phil's record, sure, I would love to take his majors and the number of victories he's had," he told the official PGA tour web site.
"But I'll continue to feed off all the good things that have got me to No. 1, and hopefully I can add to my victories, too."
Donald claimed golf's top ranking from Lee Westwood by beating his compatriot in a dramatic playoff at last month's PGA Championship at Wentworth in England.
The first goal is to get in contention and have that chance. And I've obviously done a great job of that
--Luke Donald
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The world's top two have been drawn together for the opening two rounds of the U.S. Open, along with world number three Martin Kaymer, of Germany.
In his last 16 tournaments Donald has recorded 15 top-ten finishes. He came tied fourth at The Masters and The Players Championship and can also boast second place at The Heritage.
His only regret is not being able to convert those opportunities into more victories.
"Certainly if you're not in contention, you don't have a chance to win," Donald added. "That's the first goal is to get in contention and have that chance. And I've obviously done a great job of that.
"I could look back and think that I could have turned a couple of those into victories, for sure. But overall it's been a very satisfying few months. I've played extremely well, if I was sitting here winless, yes, it would be a different story."
Donald's competitors have been lining up to sing his praises too.
Mickelson said he is "someone to be reckoned with week in week out," while defending U.S Open champion Graeme McDowell thinks his Ryder Cup teammate has the "whole package."
As proud as Donald is of his status, and the kind words from his fellow pros, its clear he would love to cement his place at the top of his profession with a maiden major title.
"In simple terms, being No. 1 ranked means you've outperformed the rest of the golfers in a two-year period," Donald said.
"In that regards it's very gratifying to know that you've been more consistent and better over a two-year period. Obviously you win a tournament, you're better over a four-day period. But winning is a big deal, and winning majors is a big deal."