Martin

Kaymer C

From an early age, it was clear that Martin Kaymer had an aptitude for sports. Born near the German city of Dusseldorf in December 1984, he excelled at both golf and soccer.

He chose golf, turned professional when he was 20, and by 2006 was playing on the EPD Tour in Germany. He won five times in 14 events that year, with the highlight being a round of 59 in the Habsburg Classic.

Kaymer won the prestigious Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award in 2007, his first year on the European Tour. He had started slowly, missing the cut in his first five tournaments, but once the tour moved back to European soil, he began to excel and finished 41st on the Order of Merit.

The Abu Dhabi Golf Championship of 2008 saw Martin Kaymer join the ranks of European Tour winners, as he triumphed in emphatic style.

Two weeks later, he demonstrated that he was a rising star of the sport by finishing second in the Dubai Desert Classic, just one shot back from Tiger Woods.

Kaymer won again that year at the BMW International Open and was close to a third victory when he lost in a playoff at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

He challenged consistently again in 2009 and returned to the winner’s circle at the French Open. This was also the year in which he recorded his first top-10 finish at a major, when he tied for sixth at the PGA Championship.

By now he was on the fringes of the top 10 in the official world golf rankings (OWGR), which was merely a taste of things to come.

In 2010, Martin Kaymer was one of the world’s top players. He won the Abu Dhabi tournament again, and later took the Alfred Dunhill Links title too.

It was also the year when he started challenging for top spot in the majors. He tied for eighth at the U.S. Open and was joint seventh at The Open Championship. Going into the season’s final major, the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, he deserved to be one of the favorites – but he now says his victory there surprised him.

“My main aim that week was to make the cut,” he admitted, “Because that meant I would play the Ryder Cup. Once I made the cut… I was very relaxed on the Saturday and played great.”

He went into the final round four shots behind leader Nick Watney, who made a poor start. Kaymer added: “I was playing great all year, I was in good form. But in the majors, you never know.”

Six holes into the final round, however, he found he was in the lead – and he finished tied on 11-under par with Bubba Watson. Kaymer won the three-hole playoff by one shot, and he admitted: “I was so overwhelmed. I didn’t realize what it meant. It was a fantastic win, but it went by me a little bit.”

A good start to 2011, when he won in Abu Dhabi for the third time and finished runner- up at the WGC-Accenture Match Play, saw Martin Kaymer move to the top of the world rankings – the first German since Bernhard Langer to claim that status.

However, he was not satisfied. He tinkered with his swing to add a draw to his natural fade. One reason was that he wanted to contend at the Masters; the other was that he didn’t feel like the best player in the world without such a shot in his armory.

Kaymer revealed: “I said to my coach, ‘How can I be the best player on Earth if I don’t even know how to play that course properly?’”

It took time for Kaymer to adjust to the swing change, but he said: “That was expected. If you change things, it will happen. I was fine with it, becoming a complete player was more important.”

His switch was justified when he made the cut at Augusta for the first time, in 2012.

More reassurance in the majors arena would follow two years later; but first would come one of the moments that would define his career.

The Ryder Cup is an event that thrills golf fans on both sides of the Atlantic every two years. Top golfers in Europe and the United States clamor to compete in the match and crave the chance to write their names in the sport’s history books.

Europe went into the third and final day at Medinah, Illinois, trailing 10-6 and needing a miracle to retain the famous trophy. They got one.

An extraordinary team display in the singles saw the Europeans clinch a narrow victory, one that was sealed by Kaymer’s putt at the 18th hole to beat Steve Stricker 1-up.

“It was the greatest and best moment of my career,” Kaymer said. “But it was also the biggest gift I ever received. The other 10 guys ahead of me did an amazing job and put me in that position – that was the gift.

“In that moment, through all the practice, all the experience, I was prepared. I was not nervous or shaky, just excited by the opportunity.

“I was so sure what I was going to do, there was zero doubt that I would miss that putt. It was a beautiful moment, I don’t think I will ever top that moment on the golf course.”

But he was much more nervous when he got around to watching the highlights two weeks later. He said: “For the first time, you see how I got to that position… watching is worse!”

Kaymer enjoyed another successful season in 2014, first when he won The Players Championship at Sawgrass, where the highlight was a stunning first-round 63.

Buoyed by that success, he shot 65-65 in the first two rounds of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, one of the toughest courses on the major championship roster.

Kaymer said: “It’s very hard leading by that many shots. Expectations are super high from other people and yourself, and it’s hard to manage them, and your emotions.”

But he maintained his focus successfully through the weekend and won by eight shots, a victory he regards as the best in his career. It also justified the alterations he’d made to his swing.

As Kaymer puts it: “When I won the U.S. Open, I knew I could play any golf course.”

Martin Kaymer describes his decision to join LIV Golf when the invitation arrived in 2022 as “fairly easy”. He liked the idea of playing in destinations around the world.

He also found himself a captain, leading the Cleeks GC team.

“We have a great team spirit. We all bring things to the table – experience, playfulness on the course, and a hard work ethic," Kaymer said. "We all get along very well and inspire each other.”

Kaymer and his colleagues were delighted – and inspired – by the sight of teammate Richard Bland winning the U.S. Senior Open in 2024. In the same month, Cleeks GC clinched their first LIV Golf team victory at the event in Houston.

Kaymer is firmly behind the concept of LIV Golf, and believes it has a solid future.

“It’s not a project for two or three years," Kaymer said. "They’re planning to do it for the next 50 or 60 years and longer. That’s why we believe in it and want to be part of it.”

Since 2021, Martin Kaymer has shared his life with Irene Scholz, who works in the health and fitness industry. They met through mutual friends and, Kaymer says, she inspires him to live a healthy and active lifestyle.

“I could spend every day with her,” Kaymer said. “It’s never boring. We have a wonderful relationship… I’m very blessed.”

The couple welcomed their son in early 2022, and were married in a small civil service later that year – with a bigger celebration in the Bavarian Alps two years later.

They have a home in Scottsdale, Arizona, and another house in Sotogrande, Spain. Moving there enabled Kaymer to apply for professional membership at nearby Valderrama and not surprisingly, his application was accepted.

Their house backs on to another local golf course, and Kaymer relates the amusing tale of the dinner he hosted for his Cleeks GC colleagues. All the guests were invited to tee off from his back garden to see who would be closest to a pin 250 yards away. And the winner was … the chef!

Martin Kaymer’s focused on-course demeanor cracks only occasionally – most memorably when he holed that putt at Medinah – but he admits he is more fiery on the tennis court, and when playing FIFA online with friends.

But when it comes to his overall approach to golf, he still gets tremendous pleasure from the game, and will never stop learning.

Kaymer confesses that when he was at the top of the game, he never thought about his swing – but that has changed in recent years.

As he puts it: “We all hit poor shots, but then you move on. Once you think swing thoughts, you don’t let loose any more. You’ve got to let go and enjoy the journey.”

More wise words from an impressive man who has clearly got the balance right.