Ken Borland

Martin Kaymer may have reached the moon in winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club, but there is no doubt the German is still aiming for the stars.

His two-shot victory at Sun City was his first since the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in November 2011 and, having been ranked the world’s number one golfer early that year, Kaymer is trying to reignite a career that has seen him sink to 32^nd in the rankings.

Kaymer’s winning score of eight-under-par 280 was the highest in the NGC since Jim Furyk’s 282 in 2005 and while the 27-year-old may not have set the Gary Player Country Club alight, there was much to admire in his calm efficiency and composure under pressure as he mastered daunting conditions better than anyone else in the star-studded field.

Kaymer followed Bernhard Langer as only the second German to be ranked number one in the world and the Ryder Cup hero admitted that his countryman has been an inspiration. Langer claimed the first half of a German double at Sun City when he won the Champions Challenge for the senior golfers on Saturday.

“Bernhard has always been a very big help, even at the Ryder Cup, he gave me advice which I could use for regular tournaments like this too. Everyone was talking about a German double, so there was a bit more pressure on me. But I’m very proud to have my name on that path at the ninth green and to be part of the special circle of winners,” Kaymer said.

Part of Kaymer’s bad run has been down to swing changes he has made and he said he would consider 2012 to be a success because of the progress he has made in that department.

“I’ve won once in 2012 and it was a very good year for me because I made progress with my swing. I am hitting the ball well and I’m very happy with the way that I’m playing.

“In golf you need a lot of patience and it’s just a matter of sticking to your plan. I have another 20 years ahead of me, maybe even 30 if you look at Bernhard,” Kaymer said.

Kaymer will now return to Mettmann in Germany for his end-of-year holiday and bask in his successful end to 2012.

He can reflect on the confidence he has gained from his key role in Europe’s extraordinary Ryder Cup triumph and returning to the winner’s circle on an individual basis at Sun City, while he has bedded down the changes to his swing.

Kaymer will return to action in Abu Dhabi on January 17 and warm to the challenge of steadily climbing back up those world rankings.

Composure under pressure was the quality appertaining most to Martin Kaymer as he won the Nedbank Golf Challenge by two strokes at Sun City on Sunday.

The German maintained his cool on the back nine, despite home favourite Charl Schwartzel drawing level with him as he reached the turn, securing the crystal globe trophy with a three-under-par 69 in the final round for an overall tally of eight-under-par 280.

Kaymer was the archetypal efficient German, mirroring the original golfing model, Bernhard Langer, who won the Champions Challenge for seniors on the previous day, also by two strokes.

Although the blue skies and searing heat usually associated with the Nedbank Golf Challenge gave way to steady rain on Sunday, Kaymer revelled in the conditions and said the final round had been the easiest.

“Today was the easiest of the four rounds, there wasn’t much wind, it was fairly calm and easier to hit the fairways. It was easy to be aggressive, you could hit mid-irons and the greens were holding, they stopped very quickly,” Kaymer said.

The Ryder Cup hero was relaxed and seemed to be enjoying himself as he set out for the final round with a one-stroke lead over Louis Oosthuizen.

A magnificent eagle on the par-five second hole was the perfect boost, but he immediately handed back the advantage with a double-bogey on the third, his pulled drive being unplayable.

Five straight pars followed before Kaymer successfully held off the charging Schwartzel with three successive birdies from the ninth hole.

But the 27-year-old, playing in the NGC for just the second time, made some bad mistakes on the back nine, but recovered from them in brilliant fashion.

He found a greenside bunker on the par-three 12^th hole and then chipped 12 feet past the hole, but made the putt for par.

Then, on the par-five 14th, he sent his drive way left to where the sun don’t shine. Incredibly, his ball landed in a clearing in the thick Pilanesberg bush and Kaymer was able to rise to the challenge of hitting his ball back on to the fairway and then producing a superb third shot that landed 10 feet from the flag to set up the most unlikely of birdies.

“My tee shot on 14 was the biggest piece of luck, I was very lucky to find the ball and then it was in a perfect position just to chip out on to the fairway, which led to birdie,” Kaymer said.

The 2010 PGA champion did drop a stroke on the par-four 15^th after hitting his approach shot over the green and then chipping 10 feet short of the flag, but he escaped from big trouble again on the par-three 16^th, sinking a clutch 18-foot putt for par.

Kaymer had weathered the storm and two pars coming in completed a very impressive triumph.

Schwartzel played very well too on the final day, matching Kaymer’s 69 – in fact, he could easily have gone a couple shots lower were it not for a frustrating day with the putter, a few putts hanging agonisingly on the edge of the hole.

The auburn-haired Oosthuizen, who began the day hot on Kaymer’s heels, saw his challenge fade away as he mixed three birdies with five bogeys for a 74, finishing fourth on two-under-par overall.

It was Schwartzel, however, who had the most regrets, looking as glum as the weather, with not even a sunset over the Pilanesberg hills to cheer him up.

He birdied the second hole and then went on a hot streak around the turn with further birdies on the ninth and 10^th holes. His chances looked bright as he birdied the 14^th hole and Kaymer bogeyed 15 to narrow the gap to just one stroke.

But his hopes disappeared on the penultimate hole when he left his approach shot short on the par-four 17^th and then duffed his chip for a costly bogey.

“It was really tough out there, the course played long. I gave it a good shot but was just short at the end. I’ve always liked this course but it just doesn’t seem to suit my eye, it’s always a real hard grind for me,” Schwartzel told CCTV after his round.

Langer, who Kaymer credited with being a great help during the Ryder Cup, was waiting at the final hole for his countryman as Germany celebrated a double triumph.

Langer also won the NGC twice, in 1985 and 1991, and was also the first German golfer to reach number one in the world rankings.

Kaymer became the second early last year and is eagerly trying to recapture that form.

His win at Sun City, beating some of the best golfers in Europe, is a step in the right direction and he will begin his 2013 campaign with confidence, keen to pick up where he left off at the Gary Player Country Club.

“I’m very happy that I’ve finally won this year. I’ve been practising hard and playing well, but it just didn’t happen for me before today. I said to my caddie, Craig Connelly, that we have to win once a year at least.

“Bernhard has been a very big help to me and everyone talking about a German double put a bit more pressure on me. But I’m very proud to now have my name on the path at the ninth green, joining that special circle of winners,” Kaymer said.

The focused German can fondly remember the weekend he played like a world number one at Sun City as he aims for the pinnacle of world golf again next year.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-12-03-cool-kaymer-makes-it-a-german-double

Martin Kaymer, in a wonderful advertisement for his composure under pressure, won the Nedbank Golf Challenge by two strokes at the Gary Player Country Club on Sunday.

Kaymer shot a three-under-par 69 to claim the title, beating South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel into second place, but his performance was far from error-free. But the way the German recovered from mistakes was magnificent as he finished on eight-under-par for the tournament.

He was level with Schwartzel as he reached the turn, reeling off three successive birdies to hold off the former Masters champion, who birdied the ninth and 10^th holes. Kaymer was still under pressure, however, with Bill Haas, Louis Oosthuizen and Lee Westwood also in the mix and he needed great skill and mental strength to get out of trouble on three occasions on the back nine.

On the par-three 12^th hole, Kaymer’s tee shot found a greenside bunker and he then chipped the ball 12 feet past the hole, but still made the putt for par.

Two holes later, the former world number one produced the greatest of escapes as his drive was nearer to Rustenburg than the fairway. Fortunately, the ball landed in a clearing in the thick Pilanesberg bush and he was able to hit his second back out, over the trees and on to the fairway. A superb third shot sailed to within 10 feet of the hole, setting up an unlikely birdie on the par-five 14^th.

A bogey on the 15^th, after his approach went over the green and he left his chip 10 feet short, cut Kaymer’s lead back to one stroke over Schwartzel and a dramatic South African victory looked back on the cards as the leader left himself with an 18-foot putt for par on the par-three 16^th. But the 27-year-old Ryder Cup hero sank the clutch putt and from that moment there was little doubt Kaymer would be the victor.

Schwartzel, playing in the two-ball ahead of Kaymer, then bogeyed the 17^th after leaving his approach shot short and then duffing the chip.

Schwartzel finished alone in second place as he ultimately matched Kaymer’s 69, having started the final round two shots back. The 28-year-old was in fine form on the final day, reeling off four birdies in the first 14 holes, before his one and only bogey on the penultimate hole.

The putter was the one club in Schwartzel’s bag that was not firing, however, as he left a few putts within inches of the cup.

Oosthuizen, who started the day one shot behind Kaymer, was left with a mountain to climb after he bogeyed the seventh and eighth holes after over-hitting chip shots. The South African was expelled from the running after he found the greenside bunker on the par-three 12^th hole, another bogey leaving him five strokes behind.

Defending champion Lee Westwood’s bid for an unprecedented hat-trick of titles never really took off, and his stillborn challenge died on the 14^th hole when he found the thick rough to the left of the green, took two attempts to get out and ended with a double-bogey seven.

Debutant Haas pipped both Oosthuizen and Westwood into third as he compiled a solid 71 in the final round, finishing five strokes behind Kaymer on three-under-par overall.

Kaymer said he was delighted his hard work this year had finally given birth to a victory.

“I’m very happy that I’ve finally won this year. I’ve been practising hard and playing well, but it just didn’t happen for me before today. I said to my caddie, Craig Connelly, that we have to win once a year at least.

“My tee shot on 14 was the biggest piece of luck, I was very lucky to find the ball and then it was in a perfect position just to chip out on to the fairway, which led to birdie,” Kaymer said.

The final round at Sun City was played in unusually wet weather, with steady showers through most of the day, but Kaymer said this gave rise to easier conditions.

“Today was the easiest of the four rounds, there wasn’t much wind, it was fairly calm and easier to hit the fairways. It was easy to be aggressive, you could hit mid-irons and the greens were holding, they stopped very quickly,” Kaymer said.

Frontrunners Martin Kaymer and Louis Oosthuizen are in agreement that winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge will not be easy at the punishing Gary Player Country Club course on Sunday.

Kaymer and Oosthuizen played themselves into the final two-ball under cloudy skies in Saturday’s third round, but will be bringing slightly different mindsets to Sunday’s closing round.

Oosthuizen, who is on four-under-par and trails Kaymer by a shot, does not believe anyone is going to be able to run away with the tournament on the final day.

“I can’t see someone shooting 65 or 66. The course is playing really difficult and I won’t be surprised if seven-under wins it. You’ve just got to stay very patient and make sure you give yourself a shout with four or five holes to play,” Oosthuizen said.

“You need to hit as many greens as possible. You can’t just go for the pins, that would be silly. The best score in the tournament has been 69 and I cannot see someone shooting much lower than that,” the South African said.

Kaymer is in pole position going into the final round, but he said that does not mean he will lock away all his attacking ambitions.

“It will be a mistake to try and defend my lead. You need to hit fairways and greens and that will lead to a few chances. But if you don’t hit fairways, you’re not going to get any birdies.

“I’ve been very surprised how difficult the course is though, so I won’t be too aggressive. Even level-par is a good score in these conditions,” Kaymer said.

Kaymer displaced NGC defending champion Lee Westwood as the world number one in early 2011, but his form has waned this year, before returning just in time for Europe’s miraculous Ryder Cup victory, in which the German sank the putt that ensured they would retain the famous trophy.

“I played very well before the Ryder Cup and I was ready to go two or three weeks before the tournament. Winning it was a huge thing, the ultimate, because I’ll never be under more pressure.

“I haven’t had a win otherwise in 2012, but it’s still been a very good year because I’ve made progress with my swing. I’m hitting the ball very well and I’m happy with my game. Golf is a game of patience and I still have 20 years ahead of me. Or 30 if I’m like Bernhard,” Kaymer quipped in reference to his countryman Bernhard Langer, who won the Nedbank Champions Challenge for the senior golfers on Saturday.