He won the BMW Russian Open and the Telia Grand Prix in Sweden on his way to second place in the Challenge Tour Rankings.

Donaldson spent the next few years playing on the European Tour, reaching a best of 58th on the final Order of Merit in 2003, but began to be troubled by back problems in 2004.

On 1 July 2012, Donaldson won his maiden European Tour title at The Irish Open at Royal Portrush, finishing 4 strokes ahead of three other players.

In his second start of the 2013 season and thirteen events after his maiden victory, Donaldson won his second European Tour title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

Donaldson secured the winning point for Europe in the 2014 Ryder Cup, with a wedge shot onto the 15th green, beating Keegan Bradley 4 & 3.

However, he finished fourth in the final event, the Andalucía Valderrama Masters, to move inside the top 101 of the Race to Dubai standings to secure his playing rights for the 2018 season.