IT HAS BEEN a very good weekend for German golfer Martin Kaymer, but it’s not over yet.
Without striking a single ball in the final of the World Matchplay Championship , the 26-year-old has guaranteed that he will finish the week as world number one after he defeated American Bubba Watson by a single hole in yesterday’s semi-final match.
Even if he is defeated by Englishman Luke Donald in today’s 18-hole final, Kaymer will leapfrog Lee Westwood when the golf’s revised rankings are announced tomorrow morning. Westwood exited the competition on Thursday evening after losing his second round match against Nick Watney.
Speaking after yesterday’s semi-final success, however, Kaymer assured reporters that he was focusing on the tournament at hand rather than his inauguration as golf’s man to beat.
It has taken me only five years to get to No1. For myself, my family and the people I work with it’s a great achievement.
I was not thinking about the No1 spot [against Watson] as I was sure I would get the opportunity again over the next few weeks, I just wanted to win the match.
Nor is there any danger of Kaymer resting on his laurels when he takes to the course later on this afternoon.
“It would be fantastic if I could win [in the final],” he assured reporters. “Then it really feels like I deserve to be the number one.”
Cool hand Luke
Donald’s own progress to the final has been very impressive, with the Englishman seeing off Ryan Moore (5&4) in the quarter-finals, before hammering Matt Kuchar by 6&5 in his semi-final yesterday.
Donald also made a little bit of history of his own this week, becoming only the second player to defeat all of his opponents with holes to spare on route to the tournament’s final. Italian Edoardo Molinari ran him closest in Thursday’s second round, but he was ultimately conquered 2&1 on the 17th hole.
A win for the Englishman would move him up to a career-high ranking of third in the world.
Ireland’s Graeme McDowell had expected to make that number three spot his own over the course of the weekend. However, that is unlikely to happen following his disappointing 3&2 defeat to Korean Y.E. Yang in the third round on Friday.
