After a blistering start to his final round in which he made three birdies in the first four holes, nothing went right for Martin Kaymer yesterday at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
The German world No.12 may have left the golf course with more dark clouds hanging over his head than those that gathered over the capital on an overcast day, but there should be no doubts in anyone’s mind that this is finally the same Martin Kaymer who reached the world No.1 ranking following his last win here in 2011.
To be fair to Kaymer, he only hit two bad tee shots yesterday, one went right of the ninth fairway, and the other to the left of the 13th fairway. On most days it would have meant hitting his second shots out of the waste area, and should not have resulted in anything worse than bogeys at worst.
But luck plays a crucial role in winning golf tournaments, and it was not with Kaymer yesterday. Both tee shots dribbled into bushes, prompting him to declare them unplayable. And his wretched luck continued as both drops got plugged in the sandy area, making his recovery that much more difficult.
And then, all those putts that were nicely tracking into the hole the first three days, failed to drop. That really was a double blow – he had dropped shots, and he was not able to make birdies.
At the start of the tournament, Kaymer was so negative about his chances because he did not like some of the recent course changes, and because he felt he had not prepared the way he usually does for a new season, he made the media believe that it would be a miracle if he made the cut.
But as things turned out, his game is in fine fettle. The fact that he hit 16 greens in regulation on the first two days and 15 on Saturday, shows there is nothing wrong with the way he is hitting the ball. And except for the last 14 holes, his putting was also brilliant.
That’s the takeaway Kaymer needs to carry with him from Abu Dhabi. And I for one won’t be suprised at all if he finishes the year as a major threat to Rory McIlroy’s reign as the best golfer on the planet.
Even though it looked like Kaymer handed over the tournament on a platter to Gary Stal, it must be said that the 22-year-old Frenchman, ranked 357th in the world, was extremely impressive to be there at the right time and the right place to make the most out of the situation.
Stal did enough good work to add his name to an exciting bunch of young players who are already turning the season into one of the most anticipated ones in recent times.
Along with the Frenchman, there was another player of the same age who needs to be marked out for the future – Belgium’s Thomas Pieters. The former NCAA champion, who beat the likes of Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed when attending college in Illinois, was just awesome in finishing fourth.
He smacks the ball a country mile, and he has a very reliable short game.
It really will be interesting to track the progress of Kaymer, Stal and Pieters following their different experiences over the last four days in Abu Dhabi.
