Kaymer eyes return to form

The 27-year-old won the tournament two years ago during a purple patch which saw the German win four successive events.

Kaymer won his first major, the USPGA Championship, and was part of Europe’s successful Ryder Cup team in 2010 and his success in the Netherlands came sandwiched in between.

His form has slipped since then but he believes he is close to returning to his full potential after making subtle changes to his game.

“Two years ago it was a period of time when I played incredibly well,” he told europeantour.com. “I played four events and I won them all in a row, with the third being the Ryder Cup. It was a really, really good time where you don’t think about anything. You step on the first tee on the Thursday morning and you know the score you have to shoot to raise the trophy.

“I have changed a few things in my swing and so you adapt a little and play a little more controlled, and not as free. So you lose a bit of distance as well. I would never say that was a wrong decision though, because I grew as a player.”

Despite his top-10 finish at Gleneagles a fortnight ago, Colin Montgomerie withdrew earlier in the week, leaving newly-crowned Omega European Masters champion Richie Ramsay to spearhead  a ten-strong Scottish challenge.