What if Kaymer could putt like Cabrera-Bello

Posted on by Alexander Rose

I stumbled over some statistics on the European Tour website the other day and couldn’t resist to do some number crunching. It wasn’t scientifically accurate but interesting nonetheless. Let me give you the basics.

I’m talking about these two numbers:

kaymer_cabrerabello

Being German myself, I feel for Kaymer’s recent plummet and while I wish him well, at the same time I strongly believe he didn’t do himself a big favor to change his swing a couple of years ago while he was in his prime. It was unnecessary (in my humble opinion) and definitely the wrong timing.

But anyway, the story is told, Kaymer kept dropping and dropping in all rankings imaginable.

Looking at the number above (from 17 Nov 2019) 77.9% GIR is a pretty impressive number. On nearly 8 out of 10 holes he puts the ball onto the green in regulation for a birdie putt—which he then mostly misses. Why else would he drop to 68th spot in the Race to Dubai or 118th in the OWGR with 17 tournaments played!

So in other words, he gets the ball onto the dance floor but then fails to execute.

Rafa Cabrera Bello on the other hand shines with a stunning 27.7 average putts per round figure. That’s not more than 1.5 putts per hole on average. Rafa is 21st in the Race to Dubai and 37th in the OWGR with 18 tournaments played.

Now imagine Kaymer could not only put the ball on the green but also putt like Rafa. There’s no easy way to calculate this but by approximation let’s just presume on 14 holes he needs 1.53 and on the rest he’d need 2 putts. That would translate into this staggering calculation:

14 holes GIR + 14 * 1.53 putts + 4 holes with 2 putts (assuming an 18 hole golf course) = 65.42. Even rounded up, Kaymer would still have a stroke average of 66. Rory McIlroy, current 2nd in the world, momentarily has a stroke average of 68.6…

This obviously shows the small likelihood of occurrence, that one player is equally strong in long and short game and at the same time a world class putter, too.

But it doesn’t hurt to dream!

Martin Kaymer: The New Boss

Posted on by Alexander Rose

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The new boss.

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He accomplished what very few had anticipated, he managed to fulfill what very few believed: Martin Kaymer, after his astonishing 65s on Thursday and Friday played another 2 great rounds of golf and left the complete field behind him. As a result Martin became the 2014 US Open Champion at Pinehurst No. 2!

What a weekend! What a course and what a show! From a German or a Continental European perspective this is the ultimate result one could ask for. Martin wins his second major, has the 2014 Players under his belt, has been world no 1 for a short period of time – and more importantly – found back his swing, willingness and ability to win tournaments.

After he realised that he’s probably not a complete golfer, he decided to make changes to his swing to be able to shape the ball more and in various ways. That caused him for quite a while some problems getting up and down in many recent tournaments. Now he’s back with his new swing and obviously the hard and tough drill totally worked out. With this form, he’s tough to beat!

With 8 points clear he won the US Open on Sunday. In the absence of Tiger Woods and basically with no real chance for US boys to lift the trophy, the American crowd was… well, let’s call it a bit bored. Plus Martin is definitely not the stage hog some would love to see – he’s just the grounded, modest, very nice chap from next door who happens to be very good at hitting some white balls around a field. But it was a great tournament and he deserves this trophy so much!

I believe Martin will win some other great tournaments in the near future. Whether that’s The Open and hence his third major? I don’t know, probably not, but he’s got the passion and ability now to win again while he played himself back into our hearts…. into mine at least.

All the best, Martin! Can’t wait to see you winning again. And by the way: I’ve put you down again for my dream foursome (see on the right)…

Can Martin Kaymer win the US Open?

Posted on by Alexander Rose

After two days at the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 Martin Kaymer sits comfortably on top of the leaderboard with a 6 shots lead in front of his first competitor Brendon Todd. Followed by Kevin Na and Brandt Snedeker.

The question is now if he’s able to keep that distance to all the others to win his second major after the exciting finish at the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits where he defeated Bubba in a play-off.

This year however the tournament is absolutely dominated by Martin Kaymer. Not one single other player was able to keep up with his birdie pace right from the start. Seemed like he’s still in very good mood after his recent win at TPC Sawgrass. Martin really is pretty much on the run this year! I can’t wait for the weekend sessions to see how this is going forward.

Here are some interesting tweets around the topic, first acknowledgements by one of the greats of the game:

Continue reading Can Martin Kaymer win the US Open?

Speaking of how grounded Martin Kaymer is… literally!

Posted on by Alexander Rose

Martin Kaymer after his win at The Players Champioship waiting in lounge for his delayed flight just like everybody else! No VIP lounge, no first class treatments, no private jet – just a pure honest and grounded guy who knows how to hit some white balls around a field, sitting on the floor in an airport.

Martin Kaymer plays and talks himself back into my heart

Posted on by Alexander Rose

It really happened, unexpectedly. Not only is Martin Kaymer able again to win, but suddenly I realise what such a smart and nice guy he is.

After his frustration at some Masters appearances and his lack of ability to properly draw the ball he decided to fully step back and worked on a complete new swing – together with his coach Günter Kessler. During this period he basically didn’t win a single thing and lived a frustrated life in the lower ranks of the leaderboard, playing less tournaments, missing some cuts here and there… overall a very frustrating period I reckon.

And then last weekend – The Players Championship weekend – almost the golf world’s fifth major tournament: Kaymer had a great first day – not a single bogey, 9 pars, 9 birdies: a record first-nine-holes stretch and the top spot on the leaderboard. On day two and the three he played very solid golf, only scored 2 bogeys on each day and stayed in P1, closely followed by Jordan Spieth, the young upcoming US-American.

On final day he played brilliant golf and managed to increase the lead to 4 shots – just when the weather got worse and play had been interrupted due to lightning. After 90mins of annoying waiting it was almost dark and the guys had to complete the tricky 15-16-17-18… not an easy task.

 

Kaymer did manage though to stay in the lead and brings home another great trophy which will bring back confidence, self belief and strong will to work himself upwards the world golf ranking list and to get back into the Ryder Cup team for later this year.

He’s is absolutely able to win again! And after watching the press conference it changed a thought process for me as well. I always was kinda reluctant towards Kaymer. Even as a German I wasn’t overly convinced I’d like that guy. Very little emotions, playing in the US rather than in Europe, just a little to plain for my liking.

But probably that’s exactly what German golf is like, probably that’s exactly what Germany needed: No big show – pure efficiency and commitment. Compare that with Langer – he’s not a clown either. Rock solid, pure honesty and absolutely grounded. That might be the winning recipe – at least it was for this tournament.

2 videos you should watch!

Final round recap

Press conference

terrific european tour season’s ending in dubai

Posted on by Alexander Rose

what a special year finds its end in sunny and warm dubai! 2010 is now officially finished and martin kaymer, the sympatic young german, crowns his amazing season with winning the race to dubai and is therefore europe’s best player in 2010.

the tournament in dubai itself was won by the swede robert karlsson, who delivered a perfect tournament and a thrilling and exciting sunday playoff with ian poulter. the englishman looked always ahead during the final round but was extremely unlucky on the second extra hole (the 18th) when his approach to the green was not as good as karlsson’s and when he was further imposed by a harsh penalty of one stroke when his ball marker flipped a bit while setting down his ball. the following putt was for sure not his best but how should it in such circumstances? karlsson scored birdie and took the cheque of 1 million EUR.

but what a pity for poulter. the last weeks had been amazing for the US resident… he’s a funny guy and i’d be happy for him. but robert karlsson is a nice guy too. overall all of my four favourite european players had their roles in this weekend: kaymer, mcdowell, poulter and karlsson… what a season finish!!

the tournament schedule of 2011 is officially been published today, so check out the link and grab your calendars, just like i did some moments ago.

interesting player field in singapore

Posted on by Alexander Rose

when autumn is getting too cold to play tournaments on the european continent, all the players are shifting either west- or eastwards to earn some additional money. there are nice temperatures in australia and parts of asia currently and there are some points to earn for money lists too.

so martin kaymer is one of the contestants that is willing to do all he can to crown his year with winning the race to dubai. that would be for sure an amazing year for the german!

after the second round he is tied 16th with only 6 strokes behind. graeme mcdowell, one of his current major rivals in this play, is tied 3rd with only 3 strokes off the lead. but the field is close.

might be an interesting weekend!

can martin kaymer make it?

Posted on by Alexander Rose

it’s all in his hands: martin kaymer, german golf professional, can put himself at the top of the world golf ranking list. due to tiger’s absence and the terrific shape martin is in, i think he can make it. the only thing he has to do is to win the upcoming european tour event, the andalucia valderrama masters in spain. even when he finishes second (tied with not more than one other player!) the world cup points would be enough, because lee westwood, who would otherwise claim the crown, is still injured and not playing this week.

i will keep my fingers definitely crossed. what a special season that could be for martin; please imagine that! winning 4 tournaments in a row, winning his first major with the PGA championship in whistling straits, winning the ryder cup with his european mates and setting himself next to the 12 other players in golf history that gained the label “world leader”… this imagination should create some goosebumps on martin’s skin, huh?!