A Great Moment for German Golf

German Duo - Bernhard Langer and Martin Kaymer

When confirmation of Martin Kaymer’s ascent to World Number One came in the decisive form of victory over Bubba Watson in the WGC-Accenture Match Play last Saturday, it was a symbolic moment for German golf. 

The torch, carried with such dignity and class by one great German golfer in Bernhard Langer, was passed to a young man more than half his age, but who is proving equally capable of being a worthy standard bearer for many years to come.

No-one in the world of golf is more delighted than Langer, who has nurtured, encouraged and supported Kaymer since the days five or six years ago when word began to filter back to Langer in his Florida base of some remarkable happenings among the lower ranks of professional golf in his homeland.

“I first became aware of Martin some time around 2005 or early 2006,” recalled Langer, who won 42 times on The European Tour and recently notched up his 14th success on the US Champions Tour since turning 50 in 2007.

“I heard from my brother, Erwin, and my daughter, Jackie, who was at the time helping to run some events on the European Professional Development (EPD) Tour of this young guy shooting ridiculous scores. That in itself isn’t remarkable, but what was unusual was that he was following up 61s with 63s or 63s with 62s and blowing the field away on a regular basis. He seemed to be dominating the EPD Tour.”

The young man in question was, of course, Kaymer, who first made Langer’s acquaintance during the Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship of Europe in Hamburg in July 2006. Kaymer shot 69 and 73 at Gut Kaden to miss the cut on his first professional appearance on The European Tour. However, two weeks later he was to start the exciting journey towards fame and fortune by winning on his debut on the European Challenge Tour in his native Düsseldorf.

Langer recalled: “I remember being introduced to Martin and watching him hit some balls. He looked impressive – definitely more so than most I had seen coming through in Germany – but at that age you never know. Some kids look terrific in their teens but don’t make the grade.

“However, I talked a little to Martin and his parents and brother, who was caddying for him, and we had some lunch and I got the sense that here was someone who was receiving strong family support and had an old head on young shoulders.

“We played the odd practice round together after that as he went from strength to strength. Just a few weeks after our meeting in Hamburg he won the first of his two Challenge Tour titles in 2006 to become exempt for The European Tour from just four starts. It was clear he was going to adjust quickly to the professional game.

“He was also very down to earth, which I recognised would be an advantage if he was to be around for the long haul. Some youngsters achieving so much at a young age can let success go to their heads and brag about things as if to say: ‘look at me’. I never saw that in Martin. He was always humble and respectful and had a thirst for knowledge. He was always asking questions in an effort to improve.”

That was never more apparent than in Munich in 2008, when Kaymer and Langer were paired in the opening two rounds of the BMW International Open. The younger man shot 68-63 to Langer’s 70-72 to lead the tournament by five shots at the halfway stage. Still he wasn’t satisfied.

“I remember what happened next,” acknowledged Langer. “We signed our cards and Martin asked if I had five minutes. We sat down and he wanted my advice on what he could do better to improve as a golfer. Some people would have been either too shy to ask or might have been happy to have shot 131 for two rounds. However, Martin felt he could do better still and I was deeply impressed with that attitude.”

The rest, as they say, is history. 

Last weekend Kaymer was anointed World Number One almost exactly 25 years after Langer himself reached that exalted position. Although he was denied a tenth European Tour title by Luke Donald, Kaymer had made a powerful statement.

“Being Number One won’t go to his head,” insisted Langer. “He has taken setbacks in his stride, like when he lost his mother and when he was injured in that go-karting accident. But for these problems I feel he would have made The 2008 Ryder Cup Team and probably won the first Race to Dubai.

“He’s a great person and attracts a lot of TV coverage here in the States. He has the good looks and the personality and intellect to be around the top levels of the game for a very long time. He is very marketable and is well liked by his peers on Tour. If he can stay healthy and focused there is no reason why he won’t be around for another 15 years.

“I don’t see burn out as a problem. He can handle things in his own quiet way and, if he continues to improve, I feel his best years are still ahead of him.”

Martin Kaymer New World Number 1

Martin Kaymer

For the first time since 1992, the top four players in the Official World Golf Ranking are all from Europe.

Martin Kaymer officially took over No. 1 when the rankings were released on Sunday night. Luke Donald, who beat Kaymer to win the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, rose from ninth to third, the highest ranking of his career.

Lee Westwood, who was eliminated in the second round at Dove Mountain, fell to second. He had held the top spot for 17 weeks, after ending Tiger Woods’ reign at 281 straight weeks.

Graeme McDowell, who lost in the Accenture quarterfinals, remained at No. 4 but he is now ahead of Woods, who has dropped two spots to fifth. The last time Woods was ranked lower than third in the world was April 6, 1997 prior to his first Masters victory. A week later, Woods had climbed 10 spots to No. 3 behind Greg Norman and Tom Lehman.

The last time four Europeans led the way was on March 15, 1992 when Ian Woosnam of Wales was No. 1, England’s Nick Faldo was No. 2 and Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal was No. 3 and Seve Ballesteros was No. 4.

Official World Golf Ranking February 27th

Martin Kaymer's Meteoric Rise

Martin Kaymer 

Martin Kaymer will become the Number One golfer on the planet today, completing a meteoric rise to the summit of the professional game.

The 26 year old from Düsseldorf will replace Lee Westwood at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking after reaching the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

Kaymer’s one up victory over American Bubba Watson, the man he also beat in a play-off to win the US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits last year, was sufficient to propel him to the Number One spot – almost 25 years to the month since his highly-decorated countryman, Bernhard Langer, became the first person, and only other German, to head the newly-created Ranking in April 1986.

Kaymer’s elevation caps a remarkable week for European golf, with Europeans now occupying at least the top three places in the Ranking – and the top four if Donald were to prevail in today’s final – for the first time in 19 years. 

While Kaymer and Westwood will switch places, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell will move to a career-high third place unless Donald wins, in which case he would occupy third and the Ulsterman would take fourth. 

The last time that Europe enjoyed such riches was on March 15, 1992, when the formidable quartet of Ian Woosnam, Sir Nick Faldo, José Maria Olazábal and Seve Ballesteros filled the leading four positions. 

As he prepared to face his Ryder Cup team-mate Donald in the 18-hole final at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Dove Mountain, an ecstatic Kaymer said: “I definitely need some time to think about it and let it sink in – the good thing is next week I don’t have a tournament, so maybe then I’ll be able to appreciate what I’ve done. But what I can say for sure is that it’s an incredibly proud moment. Not only for me, but also for my family, for the people who have helped me, and obviously for Germany and also The European Tour. To be only the second German after Bernhard Langer, who was my role model when I was growing up, is a very special feeling. 

“Like I say, it probably won’t hit me until Monday, but when the new World Ranking is published I’m definitely going to take a picture with my name at the top. It doesn’t feel real to me at the moment, but maybe when I see it in writing then I’ll start to believe I’m the best golfer in the world. Not many people can say they’re the best player in the world at their sport, so I feel very honoured and privileged. It’ll feel extra special if I manage to beat Luke in the final, because then I will really feel that I deserve it.”

While two-time Major Champion Langer was the first to ascent to the summit – staying there for a further two weeks – Kaymer is only the 14th player, and the sixth European, to fill that coveted position in the quarter of a century since the World Ranking was devised.

Since turning professional in 2005 and winning on his debut on the European Challenge Tour the following year, Kaymer has gone from strength to strength in a remarkably short space of time, winning nine times on The European Tour International Schedule with his most recent victory coming by eight shots at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship – an event he has won three times. 

That debut Challenge Tour win in August 2006 hoisted Kaymer from 1249th in the world to 480th. Since then, his progress has been little short of stupendous. He ended 2006 in 164th place then made rapid strides to 76th (2007), 25th (2008), 13th(2009) and third at the end of 2010, the season in which he made his Major breakthrough and played in his first Ryder Cup. 

Now Kaymer, who won last year’s Race to Dubai and will climb to the top of the current Rankings if he defeats Donald in today’s final, has graduated from European to World Number One with an almost effortless grace. In the process, Kaymer, at 26 years and nine weeks, becomes the second youngest player behind Tiger Woods (21 years and 24 weeks) to reach World Number One.

He follows in the illustrious footsteps of Langer, Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, Sir Nick Faldo and Westwood as the only Europeans to reach golf’s pinnacle.

Kaymer's Watson Win Earns No 1 Spot

Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer at WGC-Accenture 

Martin Kaymer will be the new No. 1 player in the world when the next Official World Golf Rankings come out.

Will he be able to celebrate with his first World Golf Championships win?

Kaymer, the 26-year-old German, assured himself of overtaking Lee Westwood atop the world rankings by beating Bubba Watson 1 up in Saturday afternoon’s semifinals of the Accenture Match Play Championships.

Kaymer will now face Englishman Luke Donald for the title Sunday afternoon.

Kaymer will become the first German to be ranked No. 1 since Bernhard Langer spent three weeks at No. 1 when the rankings were first launched in 1986. Westwood had been ranked No. 1 for the past 17 weeks since replacing Tiger Woods at the top.

“I definitely will take a picture of that moment,” Kaymer said. “It’s a very proud moment, for me and for my family.”

But getting there wasn’t easy for the reigning PGA champion. He didn’t put away the determined Watson until he rolled in an eight-foot par putt to halve the 18th hole.

“It’s sad because I lost,” Watson said. “But I played good. I didn’t really mess up too much. He just beat me.”

Watson, 2 down going into 17, hit a terrific approach shot to six feet to birdie the hole and extend the match.

But his drive at 18 landed in a fairway bunker, and his second shot hit the front of the raised green and tumbled back off the putting surface. Kaymer had to chip from behind the green but saved the par with his clutch putt.

The match was nip and tuck the entire way, with neither player gaining more than a one-hole advantage through the first 15 holes. “It was a very hard match,” Kaymer said. “Up and down the entire round.”

Kaymer claimed the first hole with a birdie and a Watson double bogey. At that point, you wondered if the fatigue of rallying from 5 down on the back nine to beat J.B. Holmes 30 minutes earlier had worn him out.

But when Kaymer conceded the second hole after a poor tee shot, the match was quickly back to all square and the two settled into their duel after that.

On the par-5 eight hole, Watson took his first lead, winning with a birdie. But he gave back the lead two holes later with a bogey.

Kaymer won the 13th with a two-putt birdie to go 1 up, but gave that away with a bogey at the 14th.

Just as quickly, though, he regained the advantage, working out of a greenside bunker at the drivable par-4 15th for birdie while Watson was forced to take a penalty shot after a poor tee shot into the desert. Kaymer’s 13-foot putt for birdie gave him the lead for good.

At the par-3 16th, Watson’s tee shot landed past the pin in the primary rough, and he failed to get up and down for par.

Kaymer Closer to Number One Spot

Miguel Angel Jimenez congratulates Martin Kaymer

Martin Kaymer is now one match win away from claiming the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking by beating Miguel Angel Jimenez 1 up in Saturday morning’s quarterfinals.

Kaymer now advanced to the Accenture Match Play semifinals for the first time in four starts in this event and will play the winner of the J.B. Holmes-Bubba Watson match.

Should the German win his semifinal match, he not only will move into Sunday’s final, he’ll also assure himself of overtaking Lee Westwood at the top. Kaymer is currently No. 2 but only needs to reach the finals (not win it) to become No. 1.

The German put on a shot-making and putting clinic early, then had to withstand a furious rally by his Ryder Cup teammate from Spain down the stretch.

“The way I played golf, at least for the first 14 or 15 holes, was very good,” Kaymer said.

Kaymer hit 11 of his first 12 greens in regulation and also rolled in three putts outside 25 feet. The last of those came at the par-5 11th when Kaymer produced a birdie despite having to take a penalty stroke after his tee shot found the desert.

Kaymer ended up winning the hole, even though Jimenez had the huge advantage after their tee shots. “Absolutely crazy,” Kaymer said of the turn of events. “He made a mistake with the chip that he didn’t give himself a chance for birdie and I holed a 25‑footer for birdie, so this was just very fortunate.”

After 14 holes, Kaymer was a bogey-free 5 under and led Jimenez 4 up.

But suddenly, Kaymer started hitting loose shots and the Spaniard clawed back into the match.

At the drivable par-4 15th, Kaymer found a greenside bunker with his tee shot and couldn’t get on the green with his second shot. Meanwhile, Jimenez rolled in a birdie putt from outside 13 feet — his only birdie on the back side — to win the hole.

Kaymer then bogeyed the par-3 16th when he failed to get up and down from the primary rough after a poor tee shot. He bogeyed the 17th after another poor tee shot, followed by an approach that came up short of the green.

With Jimenez winning three straight holes, the match surprisingly went to the 18th hole, but Jimenez failed to find the green in regulation, giving him no chance at a birdie to extend the match.

“You kind of think it’s over, then all of the sudden, you make a couple of mistakes,” Kaymer said. “It was a little shaky in the end.” 

Mike McAllister

Kaymer Honoured at Laureus Sports Awards

Martin Kaymer receives Laureus Award

Europe’s Number One Martin Kaymer of Germany and the victorious Ryder Cup Team of which he was a member were both honoured at the Laureus World Sports Awards, held in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night. 

Reigning US PGA Champion Kaymer, who won The 2010 Race to Dubai and recently took his tally of European Tour titles to nine with his victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, received the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award, having previously won the German equivalent of Sports Personality of the Year. 

Kaymer saw off competition from his fellow European Tour champions Matteo Manassero and Louis Oosthuizen and his footballing compatriot Thomas Müller, all of whom were also nominated for the same award. 

Kaymer played his part in Europe’s thrilling Ryder Cup triumph over their American counterparts, which saw the Team receive the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award. 

According to the Laureus website, “the match demonstrated great sportsmanship and golf played at the highest level in front of enormous and passionate galleries.” 

The 12 men led to glory by Captain Colin Montgomerie were also nominated in the Laureus World Team of the Year category, but were pipped to the prize by Spain’s triumphant World Cup side. 

The Laureus World Sports Awards, which recognize great sporting achievement, are considered the premier international awards ceremony in the sporting calendar. The winners, voted by a jury made up of 46 of the greatest sportsmen and women of all time, were announced at a televised ceremony at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi hosted by two-time Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey and attended by guests from the world of sport and entertainment.

   

A year in the life of Martin Kaymer

Martin Kaymer has become only the fourth continental European to win the Harry Vardon trophy, following in the footsteps of the legendary Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and the man who won the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World on Sunday, Robert Karlsson. 

At 25 years of age, he is the youngest European Number One since Ronan Rafferty 21 years ago.

His victory in his first event of the year in Abu Dhabi – the second time he had won the event in three years – was backed up by a fourth place in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic two weeks later and then third in the WGC – CA Championship. Top 10's in the US Open and the Open Championship then set him up for a remarkable hat-trick of titles towards the end of the summer.

First on the list was his maiden Major Championship success, holding off American Bubba Watson to win the US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits after a play-off. Indeed, his nerveless 15 foot downhill putt on the last to get into the play-off will rank as one of the shots of the year.

In the process, Kaymer was following in some particularly large footsteps. Only the great Bernhard Langer had previously tasted Major success for Germany with his two Masters titles, but Kaymer is catching him fast.

With success in his next two events – at the KLM Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship – he became the first European since Sir Nick Faldo in 1989 to complete a hat-trick of victories.

Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell bravely fought his way back into contention for The Race to Dubai but Kaymer was not to be denied, finishing the season with a record €4,461,011, which included the €1,092,418 he secured from the Bonus Pool for the top 15.

His rise to the summit of European golf and pursuit of excellence has been unrelenting.

He took up the game of golf at the age of ten when a club opened near his family home in Mettmann, east of Düsseldorf. His father, Horst, already played but here was an opportunity for the whole family and he and his older brother, Philip, as well as his mother, Rina, all got the golfing bug.

By the age of 15 Kaymer had already become a scratch golfer. He also played football, showing talent as a striker for the youth side Fortuna Düsseldorf and a keen supporter of FC Köln, but he decided golf was where his future lay.

The golfing world first began to sit up and take notice of a potential new force when he shot 59 on the Satellite EPD Tour in 2006. By August of that year he had joined the Challenge Tour and comfortably secured his European Tour card by finishing fourth on the Rankings in just eight events, winning two of them.

Twelve months later he was crowned The Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year – the first time a German golfer had won the award – after a season of five second places. He then followed that up with two victories in 2008, two more in 2009, when he won back-to-back titles in the height of the summer, and then four wins in 2010 including his first Major title and his anointment as European Number One.

Indeed, Kaymer could have won The Race to Dubai last year but for a go-karting accident which forced him out of the game for two months with four broken bones in his foot. In the end he came third in the inaugural Race to Dubai, but there was a determination to win the title this year and he duly delivered.

His success has put golf on the front page of the German newspapers for the first time in years and television stations are sitting up and taking notice. Germany has a new golfing idol.

Marco Kaussler, promoter of the BMW International Open in Germany – an event won by Kaymer in 2008 - has witnessed Kaymer’s development first-hand, both through the Munich event and also his role as BMW Golfsport Ambassador.

“It is phenomenal what he does,” admitted Kaussler. “It is just so nice to see this young man being successful and exceeding his personal expectations.

“There is now more interest from the media, he is on the front page, and television interest is increasing. Crews were sent to Dubai for the season’s finale. He has made that happen, and younger people have a new idol.”

Despite his success his year, his performance at the 2008 BMW International Open in particular stands out for Kaussler. His mother was terminally ill with cancer, and at the start of the week it looked like he might not compete. But after missing the practice days and pro-am to be with his family, Kaymer played like the champion he has become.

Playing the first two days with Langer, Germany’s greatest golfer, Kaymer was five strokes clear at the halfway stage. Even then, he turned to the golfing legend immediately after signing his scorecard and asked for his advice on how he could improve.

“All he wants to do is learn and improve,” says Kaussler. “Asking Bernhard which areas of his game he should work on showed that, and he was five clear of the field at the time. He is still getting better and better.”

After a play-off, he become the first German to capture the BMW International Open title, made all the sweeter by the fact it was the tournament’s 20th anniversary. He dedicated his win to his mother, but sadly she passed away two weeks later.

Kaymer has been with the same coach, Gunter Kessler, for 12 years, and Kessler admits that he did not see a world beater from the start. “When [Martin] began taking lessons from me at the age of 12, he didn’t stand out among his peers right away,” Kessler said in an interview with the Observer newspaper last month. “And we certainly had no reason to expect that he would become one of the world’s finest players. But from the very beginning, we did notice that he worked harder than the others.”

A perfectionist, Kaymer practises yoga to improve his golf technique. “He is always thinking a lot about his golf and different ways on how to improve his game,” his brother Philip, who gave up a career in golf to caddie for his younger brother in the early years, told the Observer. The two still play together when Kaymer is at home.

“Our father told us that we should hit the driver without tees to become more comfortable in tournaments. Martin still does a lot of such things like playing practice rounds without woods, the next round without wedges, the next one just with odd-numbered irons and the next one with even-numbered irons. That helps to imagine and create new shots, get a feeling for different situations, hit irons weaker or stronger than normal. It broadens your range of shots.”

He spends some of this time practising in Scottsdale, Arizona, and has an American girlfriend, Alison Micheletti, who is also attempting to find her way as a professional golfer, competing in the Ladies European Tour Pre-Qualifying School at La Manga this week.

The World Number Three has also declared that he has no intention of playing in American full time and announced last week his decision to stick to The European Tour.

Kaymer only has Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood ahead of him now in the World Ranking and if he maintains his current progress, he could follow Langer and sit on top of the world. But he is taking it one step at a time.

“Of course it would be nice to be the Number One in the world but my goal was to win The Race to Dubai and then become the Number One in world. Lee did the same, he won The Race to Dubai last year and then became Number One in the world; that would be fine with me, too.”

Fact file:

DOB: December 28th, 1984

Attachment : Sportyard

Turned Pro : 2005 (Plus 5)

Qualifying School: 2004, 2005