Kaymer is heading for Turnberry intent on a remarkable hat-trick

Published on Sunday 12 July 2009 23:01

NOT since Ian Woosnam won the Scottish Open in 1990 after triumphing in Monte Carlo the week before has any golfer headed for The Open championship encouraged by successive victories on the European Tour until Martin Kaymer pulled off the trick at Loch Lomond.

When he got into the car to drive down to Turnberry last night and find a bar to celebrate with a few drinks, the rapidly-improving German could afford to get a round in since he'd just banked more than 1million for two weeks' work.

At 24, the German is one of the brightest prospects in world golf. He's also the most boyish golfer to win Scotland's national championship at Loch Lomond, being a year younger than Lee Westwood when he took the title in 1998.

Kaymer has been coming to Scotland since he competed as a teenager in the British Boys at Carnoustie seven years ago. "That was my first time in Scotland and it's very special to play here, because the golf is so different. I think Carnoustie was made for The Open. I particularly want to play in Opens at St Andrews and Carnoustie. I'd really love that one day. At Loch Lomond, it's more like the courses we play in Europe. I'm not a huge fan of links golf, but it's always a challenge."

The first German to win the Scottish Open – an honour his compatriot, Bernhard Langer, never managed – Kaymer wasn't tempted to assess his success here as the best moment of his career so far. His first victory on German soil, the BMW in Munich last year, remains his proudest achievement. "It's the ultimate to win in your own country," he said.

While his track record in regular tournaments with four European Tour wins at 24 is hugely impressive – he's now ranked just outside the world's top ten – Kaymer has yet to contend in the majors.

"That's very difficult to explain why," he confessed. "I made mistakes at Augusta and I was very unlucky with my tee time at the US Open.

"The weather was terrible and I missed the cut by a shot. But I see the majors as a great challenge. My game is solid, I can shoot low scores and, hopefully, keep it up (at Turnberry]."

On a day which started in shadow, with a few heavy showers, the tournament drew to a close in sunshine at Loch Lomond when Kaymer could afford to bogey the 16th and still win by two shots from Raphael Jacquelin of France and Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

The leader throughout the afternoon after he birdied the par 5 sixth, Kaymer's grip on the championship was so firm that the tournament lost a little of its sparkle over the last couple of hours.

Of all the contenders, no-one played better on the last day than Jacquelin, but he needed Kaymer to stumble. As well as keeping a bogey off his card, the Frenchman made four birdies over the final six holes and posted 66 for 271.

"I came up just short, but I can't be disappointed," he reflected. "I'm very happy with the way I hit the ball and to be in contention at the end. I tried my best to make a lot of birdies."

The third round leader by a stroke, Fernandez-Castano, was hindered by bogeys at the fourth and 13th holes. Understandably, perhaps, his mind was sometimes elsewhere after his wife called from Spain to let him know that a beloved family dog, Petra, had gone missing.

Adam Scott, who bounced back with 66 after losing his way on Saturday, kept Soren Kjelsden company in fourth place. The Australian was pleased to report his ball striking was back on track while his putting had also improved.

"My putting was woeful on Saturday and, to be honest, it was still a little shaky (in the final round]. While I didn't have the best touch, I made all the ones I should make."

One of the curiosities of the last day was the disintegration of Retief Goosen, the leader at the halfway mark and a former champion here as well as the course record holder. Playing in the final group, the South African was in the thick of the chase over the opening stretch thanks to birdies at the fifth and sixth.

Whatever ailed Goosen when he started the second round with a low sclaff, however, came back to haunt him between the seventh and 11th holes when he racked up four bogeys and a double bogey in five holes. This run included an unnerving four-putt on the tenth. He slumped from 14 under to eight under and effectively blew himself out of the tournament.

True, this wasn't a collapse to compare with the 81 Goosen ran up in the final round at Pinehurst in the 2005 US Open which scuppered his chances of a third major in five years. But it was a surprising fall from grace, only partly alleviated by a fighting finish which saw him make three birdies in the last six holes and post 73 for 273, good enough for 11 under and a share of sixth.

Although he didn't challenge for the title, perhaps two of the most exhilarating holes of the entire championship were completed by England's Steve Webster. Not content with an ace at the fifth – he holed a 7 iron from 193 yards and collected a bottle of champagne for his trouble – the golfer also dispatched a wedge from 113 yards into the cup for a 3 on the par 5 sixth. It was the first time this year any golfer on the European Tour has savoured back-to-back eagles. "I had one of those random days," he mused. "It was either brilliant or useless."

For the 21,000 Scots who watched Kaymer hold off some of the world's best players on Sunday – the attendance for the week at Loch Lomond was nearly 86,000 – this was further proof that the advertising slogan used by the PGA Tour in America is just as applicable here: 'These guys are good!'

FINAL SCORES

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 71):

269

Martin Kaymer (Ger) 69 65 66 69

271

Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 65 70 64 72

Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 67 72 66 66

272

Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 67 68 67 70

Adam Scott (Aus) 66 67 73 66

273

Nick Watney (USA) 67 68 71 67

Retief Goosen (Rsa) 68 63 69 73

274

Ross Fisher 69 67 71 67 Lee Westwood 73 66 64 71

275

Martin Laird 65 70 69 71

276

Steve Webster 71 70 67 68 Richard Sterne (Rsa) 70 69 67 70

277

Brian Gay (USA) 70 69 65 73

Ernie Els (Rsa) 69 69 67 72

Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 69 70 67 71

Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 69 70 66 72

278

Jamie Donaldson 69 68 65 76

David Lynn 70 72 65 71

Kenneth Ferrie 67 68 74 69

279

Rodney Pampling (Aus) 68 71 67 73

Oliver Wilson 74 65 70 70

Angel Cabrera (Arg) 69 70 69 71

Camilo Villegas (Col) 69 67 73 70

Graeme Storm 65 76 71 67

280

Anthony Wall 70 69 69 72

Damien McGrane 71 68 73 68

Paul Lawrie 68 72 68 72,

Soren Hansen (Den) 67 68 73 72

Mark Foster 68 68 72 72

Marcus Fraser (Aus) 68 66 69 77

Seve Benson 70 72 69 69

281

Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 71 69 69 72

Ian Poulter 69 72 68 72

Thomas Levet (Fra) 70 71 69 71

282

Francesco Molinari (Ita) 67 73 68 74

Brett Rumford (Aus) 68 69 73 72

Richard Green (Aus) 64 72 73 73

Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 70 71 66 75

Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 72 70 69 71

Peter O'Malley (Aus) 74 66 69 73

283

Graeme McDowell 70 72 71 70

Darren Clarke 69 69 68 77

Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 69 67 71 76

Paul McGinley 65 71 75 72

Gregory Havret (Fra) 67 70 72 74

284

Gary Orr 70 68 71 75

Rory McIlroy 68 71 72 73

Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 69 66 76 73

Colin Montgomerie 73 69 69 73

Markus Brier (Aut) 69 69 73 73

Pablo Martin (Spa) 69 72 71 72

Stuart Appleby (Aus) 70 68 72 74

285

David Drysdale 67 73 72 73

Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 71 70 75 69

Scott Drummond 70 71 72 72

Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 69 70 69 77

Christopher Doak 72 68 69 76

286

Gary Lockerbie 69 73 73 71

James Kingston (Rsa) 69 72 67 78

Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 70 69 76 71

Scott Strange (Aus) 70 72 74 70

Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 70 69 70 77

Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 68 72 73 73

287

Boo Weekley (USA) 71 70 72 74

Miles Tunnicliff 70 72 72 73

Ross McGowan 67 72 75 73

288

Alexander Noren (Swe) 70 71 74 73

Jason McCreadie 70 67 74 77

John Bickerton 72 69 71 76

Paul Broadhurst 71 71 74 72

289

Sam Little 70 72 72 75

290

Lee Slattery 71 70 73 76

Shane Lowry 69 71 71 79

Oliver Fisher 73 68 72 77

291

Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 70 72 75 74

292

Nick Dougherty 71 71 74 76

293

Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 73 69 75 76