SAN FRANCISCO – Martin Kaymer has arrived in San Francisco with minimal expectations. Unlike many of his colleagues in professional golf, he has played very little in recent months. In Germany, he was not allowed to.
So Kaymer helped his father build a terrace in the family home. Its clubs were hibernating as the nation handled its rules for the quarantine of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I had to keep my mind busy with different things, live life like a normal person if you’re not an athlete,” he said.
It’s not exactly what Kaymer needed. His game was in decline and putting into practice what he felt needed. Since winning the 2014 Players Championship and 2014 US Open, Kaymer hasn’t won anywhere in the world. He finished 12th that year. He entered the PGA championship in 128th place in the world.
And since that victory at the US Open, he has had only one top-10 in the final, a draw for seventh place in the 2016 PGA championship.
Hence, the lack of expectations before turning 66 in the opening round of the PGA championship at TPC Harding Park.
“I didn’t really know where my game was,” said Kaymer, 35, who missed the cut in the Barracuda championship last week, his first event since March. “Obviously, I knew I was playing well, but on a golf course Obviously, OK doesn’t really take you far. Knowing that this weekend, I needed something.
“So last night I was watching the US Open since 2014, the previous nine, trying to get some sort of positivity in my game because it wasn’t very recent because of no play. At the first tee, I was obviously thinking this [the 10th] it is one of the easiest holes right away with a par-5, if I can start well with a bird, it would be fantastic.
“Watching that video about me winning the US Open, which helped me believe that my shot was good enough, that my hitting the ball was good enough, even if it’s a few years ago. But it’s always nice to remember those moments and feel the same that you felt that day. ”
Kaymer, who was classified no. 1 in the world for a short period in 2011 after winning his first major championship in 2010 at the PGA championship in a playoff on Bubba Watson, he dominated the 2014 US Open in Pinehurst, where he won with eight hits on Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton .
And then he didn’t win again. In fact, since 2015, in the past five years Kaymer has recorded only four of the first 3 milestones.
Everything is a little bizarre for a player of his stature. He was among the heroes of the 2012 European Ryder Cup, kicking off the putt on the 18th green. He has won not only two majors and a player, but also the WGC-HSBC champions. He has 11 touring victories in Europe.
“I haven’t played well enough,” he said. “I mean, it’s very simple. My priorities have shifted a little. I didn’t practice as much as I should have. I didn’t feel motivated as I should have, too.
“But coming here is a great motivation again, seeing the kids, the way they play, the way they play golf, the type of golf has changed a lot, and it takes some getting used to that and go into a similar rut without losing your game, and that’s something that needs a bit of adaptation. ‘ ‘
Kaymer made an eagle, four birds and two carts to shoot at 66 and finish a shot behind Jason Day.
Not bad considering he returned to the United States a few weeks ago with the idea of quarantining for 14 days, then learned that he would be exonerated as an international golf player and was allowed to participate in last year’s PGA Tour event week.
“Last week has been very strange,” said Kaymer. “It was one of those weeks when you go and you don’t know what to expect. I played a few rounds in Jupiter, Florida, a few weeks ago to prepare for the PGA championship, and I played well there. But if you have a scorecard in your pocket, you’ll you always feel different. ”
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