The German, once called Superman by his fellow professionals, is a worthy European No1
Globalisation is the irresistible trend in professional golf so it was surprising, and heartening to the organisers and sponsors, to see the seriousness with which golf's biggest names approached the Dubai World Championship, the final and decisive tournament of the European Tour season.
There was plenty of money to play for ? $15m (�9.6m) in one way or another ? but there was also the 2010 Order of Merit (or the Race to Dubai, as it known these days). Cold cash will always get people's attention but there was a time, and not so long ago, when the Order of Merit threatened to go the way of, say, the FA Cup ? a historic competition reduced to a parochial sideshow by the shifting tides of sport. No more.
The evidence of that could be found in the words of Martin Kaymer when he arrived in Dubai holding the lead in the money list, knowing he could be over-taken by the US Open champion Graeme McDowell. "The most important week of my career," the German said. This, from a man who two months previously won a major championship.
Kaymer is that rare thing in professional sport these days. He says what he means and he means what he says. The Dubai World Championship really did constitute the most important week of his career. That he did not win the event was a disappointment but there were consolations everywhere, not least in the quality of the golf played by those who beat him, most notably Robert Karlsson and Ian Poulter who contested a play-off eventually won by the Swede.
More importantly, the German did what he came to do; he won the Race to Dubai to finish the year as Europe's No1 player and add his name to a roll-call of past winners that includes Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and, of course, his countryman Bernhard Langer, to whom he is so often compared.
The joy on Kaymer's face was unconfined when he stepped up to collect his garish trophy on the 18th green at the Jumeirah "Earth" course, but already his mind was looking ahead to 2011. "I would like to prove that I'm worthy as Europe's No1 player, to win the Race to Dubai again. It would be nice to win another major, the Open Championship perhaps," he said, matter-of-fact.
Such goals ? publicly stated ? might sound overly ambitious and could end up being self-defeating. After all, there is nothing more disappointing than falling short.
Yet there is aura ? an unmissable certainty ? about Kaymer that suggests he will not be denied. It ain't boasting if you do it, the old saying goes, and he clearly believes he can do it. Significantly, so do his peers.
In his first year on the Challenge Tour, the breeding ground for young European pros, Kaymer's fellow competitors were blown away by the quality of his ball-striking, the fearlessness of his putting and by his statuesque physique and they immediately dubbed him "Superman".
They don't genuflect so deeply in golf's major leagues but still the respect is there. "Martin has had a great year. He has won a major championship and he has won multiple times out on tour. He is what you would want to see from your successor," said Lee Westwood, who was denied a realistic shot of retaining the order of merit title he won last year by a leg injury.
That was a personal setback for the Englishman, but it was also a disappointment for anyone who enjoys competition between the very best. This is a golden era for European golf but for all the flashy brilliance of Rory McIlory, the grittiness of McDowell and the gunslinger mentality of Ian Poulter, there can be little doubt Westwood and Kaymer are Europe's very best. Indeed they are probably the world's two best players, Tiger Woods's No2 world ranking notwithstanding.
Who is better of the two? The world rankings say Westwood, ranked No1 to Kaymer's No3, and so, though not in so many words, does the German himself.
The two are good friends and were paired together at the Ryder Cup. Kaymer was out-of-sorts that week and, frankly, was carried by his partner over the course of two days. The experience was a chastening one but it served to enhanced the German's respect for Westwood, so much so that he refuses to countenance the notion of overtaking him at the top of the rankings.
"To be honest, the No1 is still too far away for me to even think about it," he said last night. "I will try to play well every week and see what happens. If it doesn't, then I hope I will have a chance in a few years."
The humility was genuine and, as Westwood noted, it will serve him well ("This game can bite you back if you get ahead of yourself," the Englishman said) but it might have been misplaced.
There are no certainties in professional sport, of course, but it is hard to argue against the notion that Martin Kaymer will be golf's next world No1. The question is how long will it take and what will Westwood ? and possibly a resurgent Tiger Woods ? do next year to deny the German his birthright?
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/nov/29/martin-kaymer-lee-westwood-dubai
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