Martin Kaymer stormed to a three shot victory in last year's WGC-HSBC CHampions. Here, in an excerpt from The European Tour Yearbook 2012, we recap how the German captured his second European Tour title of the year in China.
There were many impressive last round performances to win tournaments on The 2011 European Tour International Schedule but it could be argued that the best of the lot was provided by Martin Kaymer on an extraordinary afternoon in Shanghai which saw him claim the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions title.
Having started the final day five shots adrift of leader Fredrik Jacobson and having begun with six straight par figures, there was little in the 26 year old German’s play that gave any hint of the fireworks that were about to appear. But once he holed from a bunker at the seventh for a birdie three, the blue touchpaper was well and truly ignited.
From there to the finish Kaymer was immaculate; another birdie four following at the eighth before he launched a blistering assault on the Sheshan International Golf Club’s back nine, birdieing seven of them to be home in 29 for a 63, a 20 under par total of 268 and a three shot winning margin over Jacobson who did nothing wrong in his closing 71, but who simply could not live with the scoring of the eventual champion.
At the end of a week when European Tour Members again occupied the top four slots in the Official World Golf Ranking, it was a similarly impressive showing in China as Tour Members Kaymer, Jacobson, Graeme McDowell, Paul Casey, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Louis Oosthuizen filled eight of the top nine places.
To order your copy of The European Tour Yearbook 2012, a 240-page, full colour hardback Official Publication with iconic pictures by Getty Images and essays from some of the game's top writers that takes you every step of the way through 52 tournaments and 29 destinations on The 2011 Race to Dubai, click here.
