Kaymer cruises to US Open triumph
17 Jun 2014 5:34 AM IST
Germany’s Martin Kaymer completed an overwhelming wire-to-wire US Open victory Sunday to capture his second major title, grinding out a final-round one-under par 69 to win by eight strokes at Pinehurst.
Former world number one Kaymer, whose first major title came at the 2010 PGA Championship, finished 72 holes on nine-under 271, the second-lowest total in US Open history after Rory McIlroy’s 268 in 2011. Kaymer displayed poise under pressure while calmly making long clutch putts on tricky turtle-backed greens. He followed a US Open record-low start of back-to-back 65s with a 72 to lead by five entering the last round and then maintained his edge to the end.
‘I didn’t make many mistakes,’ Kaymer said. ‘I played solid the first two days and that gave me a cushion for the weekend. To play the weekend one-over at Pinehurst, that made me very happy.’ Americans Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton shared second on 279 after each fired a final-round 72, but no one came within four strokes of Kaymer at any point in the final round.
‘No one was catching Kaymer this week. We all were playing for second,’ Compton said.
The victory culminated a comeback for Kaymer, who struggled after his major triumph and went almost three years without a PGA win until taking last month’s Players Championship. Kaymer became only the seventh player to win after leading every round, joining a select champions’ list including Tiger Woods.
Former world number one Kaymer, whose first major title came at the 2010 PGA Championship, finished 72 holes on nine-under 271, the second-lowest total in US Open history after Rory McIlroy’s 268 in 2011. Kaymer displayed poise under pressure while calmly making long clutch putts on tricky turtle-backed greens. He followed a US Open record-low start of back-to-back 65s with a 72 to lead by five entering the last round and then maintained his edge to the end.
‘I didn’t make many mistakes,’ Kaymer said. ‘I played solid the first two days and that gave me a cushion for the weekend. To play the weekend one-over at Pinehurst, that made me very happy.’ Americans Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton shared second on 279 after each fired a final-round 72, but no one came within four strokes of Kaymer at any point in the final round.
‘No one was catching Kaymer this week. We all were playing for second,’ Compton said.
The victory culminated a comeback for Kaymer, who struggled after his major triumph and went almost three years without a PGA win until taking last month’s Players Championship. Kaymer became only the seventh player to win after leading every round, joining a select champions’ list including Tiger Woods.
Next Story
