Martin Kaymer believes only his work on the greens is preventing him from winning an 11th European Tour title as he prepares for the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The German goes into the final event of The European Tour’s Middle East swing in the unusual position of having not yet won after missing out on the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship for only the second time in five years.
Amazingly the 27 year old was not even around to witness Robert Rock’s incredible victory, having missed the cut in an event where his previous record read first-second-first-first.
But the former US PGA Champion showed signs of a return to form with an eighth-place finish in blustery Qatar, and has only one target for this week.
“I really want to win again, and I think the only thing that was distracting me from winning was my putting,” said Kaymer.
“Obviously in Abu Dhabi the expectations were very high. I've been very successful there, and I didn't really start off the way I wanted, but last week in Qatar was a lot better.
“I had a lot of chances, especially on the weekend. It could have been a lot better result in the end, but it's always one of those weeks where you have to be patient. It's just a matter of time that I will score very good scores again, so I just need to wait.
“I feel good. My coach and my trainer, they are here. We worked a lot on Monday and Tuesday, and we will go to the range later as well - so I think my preparation has never been better.
“I spent some time on the putting green yesterday and I will definitely do a little bit more this afternoon because obviously putting is very important. It doesn't matter if you hit the ball close to the pin if you can't make the putt, so I will definitely keep working on it.”
The former European Number One hopes to draw inspiration from one of his career highlights as he prepares to tackle the Emirates Golf Club venue where he has had three top-five finishes in the last four years.
“Obviously I had success in Dubai when I won The Race to Dubai in 2010, and to win here again would be fantastic,” he added.
“Especially as I've won Abu Dhabi a few times, and Dubai, the golf course I would almost say it suits me even better. I feel very comfortable on that golf course, I finished second in 2008, and the last couple years I've played good golf here. So I don't know why it hasn't happened yet, but hopefully it will.
“I always like to come here. I think it's a good start into the season, approaching the World Golf Championship events in Arizona and Florida and then leading up to The Masters.
“I think it's brilliant the relationship that The European Tour has with the Emirates. I think it's fantastic for us, and so for me I always see it as a good opportunity to get ready for the season.”
