Martin Kaymer Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

PGA Championship 2023: Two more major winners pull out of Oak Hill

Golf Digest Middle East — Sat, 13 May 2023 11:12:24 +0000

Jason Dufner won the PGA Championship the last time the Wanamaker Trophy was contested at Oak Hill. Dufner, however, will not attempt to defend his title in Rochester.

The PGA of America has announced that Dufner has pulled out of the PGA Championship. No reason was given for Dufner’s exit.

Dufner, 46, has played in 19 events on the PGA Tour this season, including at this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson. He has missed the cut in 11 of those appearances and is expected to miss the weekend at the Nelson after a 71-74. Since winning the 2013 PGA Championship Dufner has been in the tournament every year, but has missed the cut in his past five tournament starts.

Also pulling out of the PGA Championship is Martin Kaymer. The two-time major champ, who won the PGA in 2010, is playing this week in LIV Golf’s event in Tulsa. Kaymer also did not give a reason for his decision. Kaymer had not made the weekend at the PGA Championship since 2018.

Dufner and Kaymer join Vijay Singh and Davis Love III has past PGA champs to pull their name from the competition in the past two days.

Filling in for Dufner and Kaymer are David Lingmerth and Callum Tarren. Eric Cole is now the first alternate. One field spot remains open for this week’s winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson.

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Report: Stenson, Kaymer, Casey set to be among latest LIV Golf stars to resign from DP World Tour

Matt Smith — Tue, 09 May 2023 11:15:07 +0000

Henrik Stenson with his Ryder Cup captain replacement Luke Donald

Henrik Stenson and Paul Casey are reportedly among the latest stars set to resign from the DP World Tour — taking the total of high-profile LIV Golf players either having already walked away from the old European Tour or about to in the immediate future to nine.

Last week, four long-standing members — Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Richard Bland and Ian Poulter — quit the circuit with the threat of incremental fines of up to $630,000 for DP World Tour card holders who continue to participate on the LIV Golf Circuit.

Now The Telegraph has reported that Swede Stenson, England’s Casey, Germany’s Martin Kaymer, and South African duo Charl Schwartzel and Brandon Grace are set to follow suit.

Paul Casey

All DP World Tour members who have competed on LIV Golf since its inaugural event in London last June are in breach of the tour’s tournament release regulation and so are liable to the sanctions imposed on members in breach of that rule.

Following the DP World Tour’s fine and suspension of 17 members who moved to the new circuit last June for the inaugural LIV Golf event in London, a group of players led by Adrian Otaegui, Poulter and Justin Harding filed an appeal against the DP World Tour. The LIV members were granted an injunction to enter the Genesis Scottish Open, pending a full hearing before the arbitration panel in February, which voted in favour of the DP World Tour.

The move to quit the DP World Tour means LIV Golfers will not face any more fines in the future for continuing to compete on the new series.

Martin Kaymer

However, it also rules out any future Ryder Cup participation for the European contingent, with Stenson — who was stripped of the Team Europe captaincy after he switched — Kaymer and Casey all having featured prominently in the biennial tournament along with Poulter, Garcia and Westwood.

New Ryder Cup skipper Luke Donald recently admitting his sadness at the departure of the initial trio of Westwood, Poulter and Garcia. “It is a shame,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of history when it comes to the Ryder Cup. Ultimately this is their choice and I wish them well.”

Rory McIlroy, a Ryder Cup teammate of all the European players, echoed that sentiment: saying: “I think it’s a shame that you’ve got the highest points score ever in the Ryder Cup [Garcia] and two guys that, when they look back on their career, that’s probably going to be at least a big chunk of their legacy is the roles that they have played in the Ryder Cup for Europe [Westwood and Poulter] … But at the end of the day that was their choice.”

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Cleeks captain Martin Kaymer out of LIV Golf Mayakoba, as Laurie Canter steps in

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 05:17:25 +0000

Cleeks captain Martin Kaymer will miss this week’s LIV Golf Mayakoba as he continues to rehab from wrist surgery. Reserve player Laurie Canter will take his spot in the four-man line-up at El Camaleon.

Kaymer was forced to withdraw during the final regular-season event last year at LIV Golf Jeddah due to lingering issues with his left wrist. He then missed the Miami Team Championship, although he remained in charge of the team in a non-playing capacity. He underwent surgery in mid-November.

“It’s four months now and the problem is the tissue takes a long time to heal,” Kaymer said Wednesday. “So I’m putting right now. Little bit of chipping here and there. But I still have pain once in a while. I have some good days and some not so good days. I guess that’s what rehab is all about.

“Hopefully I can start hitting golf balls in 2-3 weeks. That’s the goal.”

Canter played the final six events of the 2022 LIV Golf Invitational Series as a member of the Cleeks. The 33-year-old Englishman was one of the top performers at the Miami Team Championship, winning both his quarter-final and semi-final singles matches, the latter against 4 Aces GC star Patrick Reed.

“It was a given that he was on the team (as the replacement),” Kaymer said. “We talked to LIV and they were fine with it. He’s always going to be on the Cleeks team.”

Canter will join Graeme McDowell, Richard Bland and Bernd Wiesberger on this week’s roster.

Kaymer will remain at Mayakoba. “I can do my rehab here and my putting,” Kaymer said. “It’s the right thing to be here and support my team.”

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Jordanian youngster Shergo Al Kurdi steps in for Martin Kaymer at LIV Golf Team Championships in Miami

Matt Smith — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 10:19:26 +0000

Shergo Al Kurdi speaks to Golf Digest Middle East in Jeddah. Motivate Media Group

By Matt Smith
For the second time this season, Shergo Al Kurdi will come to the rescue for an ailing player in LIV Golf — but it won’t be quite a last-minute rush as last time.

The Jordanian 19-year-old stepped in for Henrik Stenson in Boston after the Bedminster champion had to withdraw through vertigo just before tee-off at the fourth event of the season.

And now the young alternate will once again tee it up in the $50 million Team Championship in Miami this weekend as Cleeks captain Martin Kaymer has been forced to withdraw with a wrist injury.

“Obviously it was a bit of a shock and also a panic as I did not have my dad with me and he was my caddie, and I didn’t even have any golf balls in my bag as I did not expect to play,” Al Kurdi told Golf Digest Middle East in Jeddah of his late inclusion in the field at Boston. “I had no putting practice on the green. Luckily it all came together as Stenson’s caddie — Gareth Lord — graciously offered to caddie for me, and we all made it time to tee off.”

Field update for #LIVGolfMiami …

Martin Kaymer WD with wrist injury.

Shergo Al Kurdi will replace him in the Cleeks GC lineup and play Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann in Friday's singles match.

— LIVGolfComms (@LIVGolfComms) October 27, 2022

Al Kurdi will team up with Graeme McDowell, Laurie Canter and Richard Bland, and the Jordanian will face a tough task against Torque skipper Joaquin Niemann on Friday.

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LIV Golf’s Martin Kaymer opts not to play DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship because of potential player friction

Matt Smith — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 07:21:16 +0000

Martin Kaymer in action at the LIV Golf pro am at The International. LIV Golf

By Evin Priest
Martin Kaymer is one of 19 LIV golfers listed on the DP World Tour website as being in the field at next week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. But with the anticipated tension between the players who have moved to LIV competing alongside members of the former European Tour in their flagship event, held nearby the tour’s headquarters, the two-time major champion has decided not to play.

WATCH the LIV Golf action live here!

“Of course, there will be friction there, that’s why I’m not going,” Kaymer told Golf Digest on Thursday after finishing the pro-am at the LIV Golf Invitational Boston. “I don’t need to go to a place where, feel-wise, you’re not that welcome. They don’t say it, but [it’s there].”

Kaymer is the first LIV golfer in the field to announce he’s now staying away from the event. Others LIV stars still set to play include former DP World Tour mainstays Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Richard Bland, Graeme McDowell and Sergio Garcia, along with Patrick Reed, Abraham Ancer, Talor Gooch and Jason Kokrak, each in the field thanks to their spots inside the top 60 in the World Ranking.

While golfers who moved from the PGA Tour to LIV have been suspended from competing on the American circuit, DP World Tour bylaws prevent such long-term punishments. DP World Tour officials did initially fine and suspend members who left for LIV for three summer events, but a UK arbiter temporarily lifted the suspensions pending a full legal review that is set for February 2023.

Given the ruling, LIV golfers who are eligible to compete in DP World Tour events have been allowed to play, although only a handful having done so. Poulter and Laurie Canter were two in the field at last week’s Omega European Masters.

However, with $8 million in total prize money available at Wentworth, not to mention the chance to earn much coveted World Ranking points, the number of LIV players will be the most competing in any DP World Tour event since the launch of the league.

More: LOOK: The LIV Golf standings ahead of fourth event
Ones to watch at LIV Golf Invitational Boston

Ahead of the BMW PGA, DP World Tour chief Keith Pelley circulated a memo to members stating LIV golfers “will not be required to play in the pro-am on the Wednesday and will not be in TV featured groups” at Wentworth or in subsequent DP World Tour events.

In another memo, sent only to the LIV players, Pelley asked: “Out of respect for our partners, our broadcasters and your fellow competitors, we would kindly ask you to consider not wearing LIV Golf-branded apparel during your participation at Wentworth.”

Rory McIlroy a member of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, noted after winning the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup title on Sunday: “It’s going to be hard for me to stomach going to Wentworth in a couple of weeks’ time and seeing them there. I hate it. I really do.”

And Matt Fitzpatrick, also a member of both tours, noted that he expected things to feel “awkward” and “odd.”

In 15 years on the European Tour, Kaymer won 11 times, but his last victory was back in 2014 at the US Open. In the past two years, playing on the DP World Tour, it looked like he would end that victory drought only to painfully stumble during the final round and come up short of a 12th win. In June, the 37-year-old German became one of the original golfers that joined LIV.

“I do love the European Tour and I do like Wentworth; I think it’s a flagship event that people like to participate in,” Kaymer said. “But under those circumstances, I try to stay in the area where the energy is high, where the energy is positive. I don’t know why I should fly to England, [and] be on the golf course for four or five days where you are not that welcome, I would say. It has nothing to do with the European Tour or the players or anything like that … but where we are right now [in professional golf], I try to stay away. I will wait until everything settles.”

LIV Golf made a statement signing of World No. 2 and Open Champion Cameron Smith, as well as Joaquin Niemann, from the PGA Tour this week.

Kaymer has spoken previously about his desire for the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour to come to an agreement with LIV.

“The hope is there absolutely,” Kaymer said. “I just don’t know if the main people in charge of all the tours … are able to put egos and personal stuff behind and focus on the big picture in the game of golf.

“I think it’s very good for the game of golf what’s happening with LIV and what’s happening with the PGA Tour now. All those things are good for the players, and I do hope and do believe in maybe in two or three years things will change and will turn out good.”

But the change won’t come quickly enough for Kaymer to feel comfortable about playing next week at Wentworth.

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LIV Golf Bedminster takeaways as Stenson surges, Wolff swing shift and Westwood’s revival

Matt Smith — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 07:01:52 +0000

By Matt Smith
While Henrik Stenson was surging to a LIV Golf debut title at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey, there were plenty of other talking points out on the course. Here is a little run-through:

Wolff in the swing

Matthew Wolff started the day seven strokes off the pace but was the only player who mounted a significant charge in the final round. His bogey-free seven-under 64 left him at nine-under, two strokes behind winner Stenson.
Thanks to the tiebreaker rule, Wolff was awarded second place on the podium ahead of Dustin Johnson.
Wolff, who made his LIV Golf debut in Portland and plays for Phil Mickelson’s Hy Flyers team, credited a recent swing tweak as the difference-maker. He said it involved leaving his hands at the top a little longer so that he doesn’t get too quick and hit it left.
“Kind of got a swing thought earlier this week that I was feeling really good with, so just kind of stuck with it,” Wolff said on Sunday. “Feel like I hit it good all week, even the first two days. Just putts didn’t drop, and I got a couple of bad breaks. Today, it came together.”
Thanks to Wolff’s play, Hy Flyers were able to make a push in the team standings. They fell just short of the podium, behind Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces, Stenson’s Majesticks and Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs.

WATCH: LIV Golf highlights

Westwood rolls back the years

Majesticks skipper Lee Westwood was excellent all weekend from tee-to-green at Bedminster, as he led the field in fairways hit (88 per ent) and greens in regulation (78 per cent).
So impressive was his play that one of his playing partners, Cleeks captain Martin Kaymer — who had been in the same group as Westwood for two of the three rounds — turned to the veteran Englishman on Sunday and said, “That was a joy to watch.”
Westwood responded. “That was nice of him to say. So yeah, I’m playing well. Look forward to the rest of the year.”
Westwood finished at four-under and a tie for sixth. While pleased with his ball-striking, he knows one part of his game prevented him from getting in the mix Sunday.
“I could not buy a putt,” Westwood said with a wry smile.

Carlos Ortiz. LIV Golf

Ortiz firing once again

Carlos Ortiz made his LIV Golf debut in Portland and finished second. At Bedminster, he finished solo fourth. And in both events, his Fireballs team finished third.
Suffice to say it’s been a productive couple of starts for the Mexico native, who provided the dramatic clinching putt for Fireballs on the final hole in Portland.
“I’ve never had this much fun in a golf tournament,” Ortiz said after his three-under 68 on Sunday. “It’s unbelievable.”
Too far behind Stenson to push for the individual trophy, Ortiz knew he needed to stay sharp since Fireballs were trying to hold off a late charge from Hy Flyers in the team event.
“I had no chance with the way Henrik was playing but I knew it was close for third place,” Ortiz said. “That really pushed me.”

What they said

Henrik Stenson: “I think there might have been a little bit of extra motivation in there this week. When we as players have that, I think we can bring out the good stuff. Yeah, I certainly did that this week. I guess that’s been a bit of a theme over the course of my career, I think, when I really want something I manage to dig a little bit deeper, and a lot of times we manage to make it happen.
Lee Westwood (on Stenson): “Not a bad way to start your LIV Golf career, is it? Think he’s been playing quite well recently but not getting the results. It was a good time for him to play well again.”

Round 3 stats

Driving distance -– Paul Casey, 338.8 yards average
Longest drive – Paul Casey, 360 yards
Driving accuracy – Louis Oosthuizen, 93 per cent (13 of 14 fairways)
Greens in regulation – Lee Westwood, 94 per cent (17 of 18 greens)
Scrambling – Matthew Wolff, 100 per cent (4 of 4)
Fewest putts – Sergio Garcia, 23
Putts in GIR – Matt Jones, 1.42
Eagles made – Matthew Wolff (10th hole), Brooks Koepka (10th), Justin Harding (15th hole)
Bogey-free round – Matthew Wolff (64)
Easiest hole – 590-yard par-5 8th, which played to a stroke average of 4.500.
Hardest hole – 185-yard par-3 7th, which played to a stroke average of 3.354.

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LIV Golf: Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia come out swinging for Portland

Matt Smith — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 01:27:04 +0000

By Matt Smith
Cleeks skipper Martin Kaymer, Majesticks captain Lee Westwood and Firebaslls leader Sergio Garcia all faced the media on Wednesday in Portland, and they put the LIV Golf game front and centre amid the controversy of the breakaway series and the fallout from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

[parone_video_player campaign=”281″ defaultlang=”en” feed=”51-all-videos”/]

“Well, first and foremost, I think it’s an individual sport,” said German former world No 1 Kaymer.

“Obviously in this league with LIV, they add that team aspect, which for all of us we have a long history — Lee has the longest history of Ryder Cups, so we all enjoy that team aspect a lot.

“Also, it might be some kind of preparation for being the captain one day to be the captain of the Ryder Cup team. That would be great.”

Westwood added: “It’s an exciting aspect to the format. I think, like Martin, you go out and try and shoot as low as possible, … throw in some low ones and shoot the lights out.

“It’s an exciting format. We go out, obviously try and do your best as an individual, but certainly that team aspect to it gets it really exciting, especially on the final day when it’s three out of four scores to count. It’s exciting to be part of and exciting to watch.”

Masters champ Garcia said: “It’s super exciting. I love team sports. We’re all playing our own ball, but at the same time it’s nice to build relationships with your partners, with your teammates, and kind of peek out and see how they’re doing while you’re playing. I can’t help myself but do that.

“It’s just exciting to play a little bit of a different format. It’s something new. It’s something different, exciting, and for me, as much as I love team events and team sports, it’s obviously something that helps me build stronger and better relationships with my teammates.”

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Charl Schwartzel rolls back the years to get in prime position for history-making $4 million at LIV Golf inaugural event in Centurion in England

Matt Smith — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 21:01:14 +0000

By Matt Smith
Charl Schwartzel put on quite a show for the second day running at the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event at Centurion Club outside London on Friday.

The South African 2011 Masters champion has not won a tournament since 2016, but he is on course to have the most historic piece of golf timing with a record-breaking $25 million in prize money on the line, and $4 million going to the winner alone.

MORE: LIV Golf Day 2 as it happened
Watch the action here

Schwartzel led a South African 1-2 show in his nine-under wire-to-wire day on Friday, as Hennie Du Plessis is in second spot, three strokes back on six-under.

The pair traded birdies and bogies all day in St Albans before the more experienced Schwartzel put a bit of daylight between himself and Du Plessis over the last few holes.

Schwartzel in the driver's seat #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/aw2FhmJmRV

— LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) June 10, 2022

The action was relentless all over the course thanks to the events innovative shotgun start, with all 48 players teeing off out on course at the same time, and the course bared its teeth for the second day in a row too, with only six players currently under par for the tournament.

Indeed, some, such as Andy Ogletree and Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat will be comforting themselves with a guaranteed hefty pay day, with no cut in the three-day competition — American Ogletree is propping up the leaderboard on a whopping 19-over par but, if he is still there come Saturday evening, he will still walk away with $120,000.

Peter Uihlein and Oliver Bekker round out the top rour on four-under and three-under respectively, with the likes of Phil Mickelson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia toiling somewhat in the Hertfordshire summer sunshine.

On a day when Bryson DeChambeau was confirmed as the latest big name to sign up for the LIV Golf series — despite the PGA Tour moving to suspend any of its players that compete in the Saudi-backed tournament — the Centurion Club was transformed into a festival, with thousands of fans pouring into the venue to watch the action.

“I think we saw today that this is a series that has delivered on its promises and is here to stay and help change the game of golf for us the players and the fans,” said Martin Kaymer following his round of 70 left him on four-over in T26 position.

“I have been offered a great opportunity here. We need to focus on the game of golf. It doesn’t matter where you play.

In my opinion, it does help the sport. If some tours take it personal, that’s their issue, I guess. I don’t see why they should because we should focus on main and the big picture, and the game of golf that we promote. It doesn’t matter where you play in the world, it’s the greatest sport out there, I believe. There’s no reason to continue to get upset, I guess.”

Supreme from #STINGERGC ?

Can they be caught?#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/6aepNML7ct

— LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) June 10, 2022

Branden Grace, who is on the same Stingers team as both Schwartzel and Du Plessis, was delighted with the duo’s performances. The Stingers lead the LIV Golf team event on a collective 15-under from Peter Uihlein’s Crushers team.

“There weren’t too many screens out on the course to check the team scores,” Grace said. “Every time a checked, they were showing the individual standings, and it was hard to keep up with my teammates. But I saw that two of our main guys that were on leaderboard yesterday, they kept on playing well today.

“We are heading the right direction obviously with one day today. Tomorrow is an important day with three scores to count so that mixes things up a little bit.”

“There’s three scores, so anything can happen,” Uihlein added. “It’ll still be tough to mount a comeback, but it’ll be fun. We have no idea what will happen tomorrow because it’s the first time we’re doing it, so it should be cool.”

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Martin Kaymer, undeterred by 7-year winless drought, back in contention in Dubai

Golf Digest Middle East — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 22:06:07 +0000

Andrew Redington

By John Huggan
DUBAI, U.A.E. — As anyone who has followed the recent fortunes of Martin Kaymer must surely know by now, more than seven years have passed since the now 36-year old German has won a golf tournament anywhere in the world. His last victory was a big one mind you, an eight-shot stomping of the field gathered at Pinehurst for the 2014 U.S. Open. Players champion that same year, Kaymer also finished first in the 2010 PGA Championship and was runner-up in the 2011 WGC Match Play, a result that took him to number one in the world.

Heady stuff indeed. But all a while ago now. As evidence of the decline in his play, Kaymer arrived in Dubai for the DP World Tour Championship as the 113th best golfer on the planet and 47th in the soon to be re-branded European Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai. Still, the news is not all bad. Over the last couple of seasons, Kaymer has numerous times come close to ending his victory drought — most recently at the BMW International Open in June, where only Viktor Hovland was able to beat his 17-under par score.

“I’m not tired of hearing the ‘it’s been seven years since I won’ question,” said Kaymer. “It’s a fact and something I don’t need to talk about too much. It is how it is. I know where the weaknesses and the issues were in my game. For a long time my game was not where it needed to be. But I have worked hard to eliminate them. If I am to win again I want to do it in the proper way.

“I have been really close a few times over the last couple of years,” he continued. “But I haven’t been able to finish it off. It really isn’t that easy to win again after such a long time. Expectations are high. Everybody thinks if you are up there you will, or should, win. And that thought is always in my mind. But the most important thing for me is not comparing myself with the past. I’m a different person now. I need to hit the reset button and play the golf like I did today.”

So far this week Kaymer has performed solidly. His brace of 68s has him eight under for two circuits of the Greg Norman-designed Earth Course at the Jumeirah Estates. Two shots off the pace set by Shane Lowry, John Catlin and Sam Horsfield, he is T-6 alongside Open champion Collin Morikawa.

“I didn’t think I played as well as I did yesterday, even if, until the last hole, my score was one shot better,” said Kaymer, who made a six on the 620-yard par-5 18th. “I scored well today. I kept my game together and used the opportunities I created with my short irons. I had some good birdie chances off those and did a nice job finishing them off. I’m happy enough. Shooting four-under par on this course is something I would take any day.”

So he’s in contention. Again. And determined to use recent experience to his advantage rather than seeing the prospect of “failure” as something to be feared.

“My overall game is good, somewhere around 7-8 out of ten right now,” he claimed. “My iron game is really solid. I’m not making many mistakes in that area. I’m still hitting a couple of loose drives once in a while. But I guess nearly every golfer can say that. And my putting has seen a big improvement. The combination of good irons and better putting has made me a lot more competitive.

“The biggest issue I have had when in contention is not continuing to play…I don’t want to say ‘aggressive,’ but I have definitely held back a little bit,” he continued. “It is almost as if I have been trying to avoid mistakes. Not many people talk about that, but it is the truth. So my main goal over the next two days is to continue playing as I have done so far. All the way to the 18th or 72nd hole. I’m working on that. And it is going well.”

Indeed, life in general is good for the Dusseldorf native. He has a lot going on. So much, in fact, that this will be his final tournament appearance of 2021. For the best of reasons. From here in Dubai he will head back to Germany, where he and his girlfriend, Irene, will await the birth of their son early in the New Year.

“So I won’t be playing in Abu Dhabi (where he has won three times) and Dubai in January,” he revealed. “No chance. This is my last event of the year. From here I will go to Germany and I won’t be seen again on tour until March. I will take that time off. Besides, being at home means I won’t be able to practice. So I wouldn’t be prepared golf-wise or mentally. Given that, I don’t see the point of going.”

Indeed. Even after seven years, winning really isn’t everything.

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Viktor Hovland holds off charging Martin Kaymer and makes European Tour history in the process

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:26:06 +0000

Andrew Redington
Viktor Hovland reacts to his putt on the 17th green during the final round of the BMW International Open.

By John Huggan
The to-do list continues to compress, just as the ticks he is placing in elite golf’s various boxes continue to multiply. Already a two-time victor on the PGA Tour, Viktor Hovland can now call himself a winner on the European Tour. With a final-round two-under 70 at the Golfclub München Eichenried, the 23-year-old former U.S. Amateur champion reached 19 under par for the week and held off all-comers by at least two shots to claim the BMW International Open title.

Not incidentally, in the process of ticking yet another box in a professional career still just two years old, Hovland became the first Norwegian to finish first on the Old World circuit. It is a maiden victory that came in only his 17th European Tour event, matching exactly the number of starts it took him to win for the first time on the PGA Tour.

All of which was not achieved without more than a little discomfort over the 7,284-yard layout just outside Munich. On a day when former U.S, Open and PGA champion Martin Kaymer made 10 birdies to match the low score of the week (64), Hovland was, for long enough, relatively becalmed. Only one birdie came his way in the first 12 holes, three-putts for par on both the ninth and 11th especially jarring.

Indeed, when Kaymer holed-out for one last dip under par on the 18th green, he was tied with Hovland on 17 under par. Further complicating matters, Spain’s Jorge Campillo was only one-shot back. The pressure then, was all on Hovland, who was in the process of making par on the short 12th. At that stage he had made only 28 feet of putts on the round.

The key, however, was that, even amidst his struggles, Hovland was caught but never passed. Having begun the day with a three-shot edge and fully recovered from getting sand in his eye that forced his withdrawal from last week’s U.S. Open, he was spared the ultimate psychological blow. Especially vital in that regard were the 12-foot putts he made for birdie on the 424-yard par-4 13th, then par on the following green. The up-and-down for birdie at the drivable 319-yard 16th wasn’t too shabby either. Lead restored, then maintained, then extended.

Which was perhaps just as well. A third three-putt from Hovland on the penultimate green meant a dropped shot and the need for no more than a par on the 568-yard par-5 18th to clinch victory. In the end, his immaculately played closing birdie meant the margin of victory over Kaymer was two shots.

“I’m kinda glad that’s all over,” said Hovland, who is expected to move to a career-high 13th in the World Ranking and has all-but clinched his Ryder Cup debut at Whistling Straits in September. “Sleeping on the lead you think about winning and yes, it was a long day and very stressful. I saw that Martin was creeping up from behind and Jorge was hanging in there. But making birdie on 13 helped me a lot, as did the par-save on 14. That was big for momentum. From there, I was just trying to play solid golf and not make too many mistakes. It was good enough today. And I have a lot to look forward to. The Open. The Olympics. The Ryder Cup. But first I can relax for a couple of weeks at home in Norway with all my friends. I’m going have a blast.

As for Kaymer, the 36-year-old former World No. 1 was more than happy to follow his T-26 finish at last week’s U.S. Open with another strong showing. Since his last victory at the 2014 U.S. Open, the Dusseldorf native has watched as no fewer than 149 different men have won on the European Tour. So it’s been a while since he performed this well at this level. There was also the thought that, only a few days after being named one of European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington’s assistants, he was sending a wee “I can still play” message to his prospective boss.

“I knew at the start of the day I needed something really low,” said Kaymer, who teed-off eight shots behind Hovland. “But the putter was hot today, I made a lot of good ones. My goal at the beginning of the week was to get to 20 under. That is usually what you need to do on this course. And I played well over the first three days without holing too much. Still, even when I made the birdie on the last, I had feeling it wasn’t going to be quite enough. But it felt good to make it. Those are the moments you need when you haven’t been successful for a while.

“Last week at the U.S. Open gave me confidence,” Kaymer continued. “I found something in my swing during the third round. It feels good to putt as well as I did today. I made pretty much everything. And yes, of course I would like to participate in the Ryder Cup. It’s a huge honor to be a vice-captain, but I will be giving it everything I have to make the team. If it’s enough it will be a massive bonus, especially after the way I have played the last few years. If I put myself fin contention a few more times, maybe Padraig has something to think about.”

One last thing. Keep an eye out for Vincent Norrman. Following up his recent T-14 finish at the Scandinavian Mixed in his Swedish homeland, the 23-year-old, surely destined to be known as the “Great White Sharrk,” closed with a 66 to finish T-5 in his professional debut.

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