In 2010 Martin Kaymer could do no wrong on the golf course. He won the PGA championship, the Race to Dubai and was the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year.
He even made it to world No. 1 for eight weeks in 2011 after his runner-up in the WGC-Accenture Match Play. Swing changes affected his game and he lost his consistency.
In the 2011 off-season Kaymer decided to return to his comfortable fade with the long clubs and by the end of 2012 he began to show signs of regaining his world class form.
Kaymer was a key piece of the European Ryder Cup Team’s huge comeback at Medinah. Captain Jose Maria Olazabal only used Kaymer in two matches in the Ryder Cup but his singles win on Sunday over Steve Stricker secured the winning point for the Euros.
He finally entered his first winners circle in 2012 at the elite field Nedbank Golf Challenge. The Nedbank is not a major but a win is a win and it feels pretty good to Kaymer.
Kaymer posted 72-69-70-69 for a combined total of eight-under par for his win by two shots over Charl Schwartzel.
The Nedbank Golf Challenge has been held since 1981 and only invites 12 of the top golfers in the world. It offers a $5 million purse with the largest first place check in golf, $2 million, going to the winner. It was played over the Gary Player Country Club in the Las Vegas-like atmosphere of Sun City, South Africa.
All of the big names in golf have won here over the years including; Johnny Miller, Raymond Floyd, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Price, Nick Faldo and Nick Price. Lee Westwood won in 2010 and 2011 but fell just short of being the first to win the Nedbank three consecutive years.
Other players in the field in order of finish:
Charl Schwartzel
Bill Haas
Louis Oosthuizen
Lee Westwood
Paul Lawrie
Francesco Molinari
Carl Pettersson
Peter Hanson
Nicolas Colsaerts
Justin Rose
Garth Mulroy