As the ten-year anniversary of Rory McIlroy’s fourth and last major championship creeps ever closer Martin Kaymer will be faced with an unwanted ten-year milestone at next week’s US Open in Pinehurst.
Kaymer romped to an eight shot victory at the no.2 course at the 2014 US Open and when he arrives in North Carolina next week he will be the defending course champion. But he would not have believed ten years on he would be returning to the site of his last professional win – not counting the 2014 PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
“I haven’t been back since I won there, so obviously I have a lot of good memories,” said the 39-year-old who plays for Cleeks GC on LIV Golf. “The way I played golf all week obviously was good, that excitement that you have all week long, being in contention, being on top, trying to ride that wave as long as possible.
“It was overwhelming feeling winning a major by eight shots. I did not expect myself to do that. I know I was playing good golf going in there. I won THE PLAYERS Championship two months before that, so I knew I was playing well. But then shooting 10-under par after two rounds on that golf course, I almost felt a little bit embarrassed about it because two days prior to the event I was asked what I believed the winning score would be, and I said probably 2- or 3-over par, and then you shoot 10-under, and you surprise yourself.
“But obviously the last 10 years if you would have told me at the press conference that I’m not going to win the tournament from 2014 until 2024, I would have thought you were crazy. But this is the reality and this obviously is quite difficult for me to handle, that I haven’t won since then.
“But this is the sport, and I guess this is what we try to do to become better, and hopefully we’re going to be on top soon again.”
Kaymer who also won the 2010 PGA Championship and played on three winning Ryder Cup teams admits he is searching for the enjoyment levels he had when he was at his best during that spell.
“So every day I started new, and I enjoyed playing golf. I enjoyed the golf course, and I enjoyed the challenge. Sometimes you tell yourself, I want to go out there and have fun, but it’s not that easy. Sometimes if you have a tough start, then you do get nervous. You do have some shaky shots. If you pull them off the way you want them, that gives you the ultimate confidence and then you can continue your journey, and I did that really well back then.
“This is what I’m searching for right now. Pinehurst obviously has a lot of good memories for me, and hopefully with the form that is trending in the right direction and the positivity that I gained back then in Pinehurst will hopefully create some good scores.”