Martin Kaymer is the world’s No. 1 golfer?
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If he was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, he would have lost to a No. 16 on Thursday.
In the opening round of the Masters, Kaymer shot a 78, placing him tied for 93rd in a field of 99. Among those ahead of the German include 54-year-old Mark O’Meara (77) and someone by the name of Lion Kim (76), a University of Michigan senior who qualified by winning the 2010 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.
So what is it about Kaymer and the Masters? In each of the last three years, he has failed to make the cut. On Thursday, he shot his worst round ever at Augusta. This coming from the winner of golf’s last major, the PGA, in August.
“There’s some golf courses that suit you, and some they just don’t,” Kaymer told reporters. “It’s obviously a huge tournament here, and if it doesn’t really suit your eye, it’s a little frustrating.”
Entering past Masters, Kaymer played the week before. This year he took two weeks off, staying home in Scottsdale, Ariz., to practice.
“I need to try something different again,” Kaymer said. “I don’t know what I have to do here. Maybe one day it will work out.”
Some have speculated that Kaymer, who plays a fade, is ill-suited to Augusta, which favors a draw. Kaymer disagrees, saying his short game has not been up to the standards required for the Masters’ severely sloped greens.
The top hope to end Europe’s 12-year Masters drought has shot himself out of the tournament. But there are still plenty of Europeans on the leader board to take up the cause, including co-leaders Alvaro Quiros (Spain) and Rory McIlroy (Ireland).
