Fast start
January 25, 2010
It's been over a decade since a German golfer made the top ten of the World Golf Rankings, but with Martin Kaymer's victory on Sunday at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, there is no longer any doubt that Germany is a force to be reckoned with on the world stage.
"It was one of the nicest rounds I have ever played on the European Tour. In fact, they were four fantastic days. I hit the ball great and my putting was very good too," a stoic Kaymer told reporters afterwards.
Playing in the final group with fellow European greats Ian Poulter (England) and Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Kaymer followed three consecutive rounds of 67 with a six-under-par 66 on Sunday to beat the Englishman by one and the Northern Irishman by two.
Poulter was in the lead by one shot through 12 holes on Sunday. Kaymer caught him with a birdie on the 14th and stayed even with a critical par save on the 17th.
On the final hole, the 557-yard par-5 18th, Poulter missed the fairway left and managed only a par five. Kaymer reached the green in two and two-putted for the tournament-deciding birdie four.
The victory is Kaymer's fifth on the European Tour and brings him to second on the 2010 European Order of Merit.
Maturing talent
Kaymer's bogey-free Sunday 66 was a result of more than just pure talent; after the round the 25-year-old spoke of the difference between this year and 2008, when he won the Abu Dhabi Championship for the first time - his first ever European Tour victory.
"I've been in contention a few times already in my career over the last three years. My first win was difficult, and my second win, in Germany, was very difficult. Now it has changed a little bit," he said.
This week was the first event of Kaymer's 2010 European Tour season, and it goes without saying that further successes most likely await the young German in the coming months.
Humbly, Kaymer says his main goal this year is to make the 2010 Ryder Cup.
But at sixth in the world rankings and already second in the European Order of Merit, it's safe to say Kaymer will be a welcome sight for captain Colin Montgomerie at Celtic Manor come October.
Author: Gabriel Borrud
Editor: Jennifer Abramsohn