Having come agonisingly close to claiming his 12th European Tour title in Italy last week, Martin Kaymer is determined to make swift amends at one of his favourite tournaments of the year, the Portugal Masters.
Kaymer lost in a play-off to Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg in Milan, but the Portugal Masters will offer the two-time Major Champion a chance for redemption when he headlines a formidable field at Oceânico Victoria Golf Course from October 15-18.
It will be Kaymer’s sixth visit to Vilamoura, in the Algarve region, and whilst he is yet to claim victory in the €2million event – a tie for seventh on his debut in 2007, when he opened with a round of 61, remains his best performance to date – the German believes that the relaxed environment tends to bring out the best in him.
He said: “It’s a very good tournament, and I think it should get more credit than it does. The golf course is brilliant, and then when you’re done for the day, it’s very nice to visit the marina at night. So it’s got everything you want from a tournament.
“You can go low at Oceânico, and it’s a lot of fun to play – especially the last few holes. The 15th is a drivable par four, the 16th is a tricky par three, the 17th is an exciting par five where you can easily make birdie or bogey, and on the last you have to be very brave with your drive if you want to make birdie. So it’s a very exciting finish, both for the players and the fans.”
On his last appearance in the Portugal Masters in 2013, Kaymer finished in a tie for 13th place behind David Lynn.
Since then, the 30 year old has doubled his tally of Major titles by adding the 2014 US Open title to the US PGA Championship he claimed in 2010; but his last victory in continental Europe came at the KLM Open five years ago, and Kaymer is keen to return to the winners’ enclosure in The European Tour’s traditional heartland.
“My game has been decent recently, I just need to do a bit of fine tuning – especially my short game,” he said.
“That’s probably what cost me the chance of victory in Italy. But it’s great to be back playing more regularly in Europe, you get to visit different countries and experience different cultures. I miss that when I’m over in America, so it’s nice to be back home and hopefully I can get another win soon.”
Kaymer will be joined at Oceânico Victoria Golf Course by Thomas Bjørn, his fourballs partner from The 2014 Ryder Cup.
Like Kaymer, Bjørn missed last year’s Portugal Masters after helping Europe retain Samuel Ryder trophy at Gleneagles, but the Dane is relishing the prospect of returning to a tournament he graced every year from 2007 to 2013.
Bjørn said: “Last year was the first time I’ve ever missed the Portugal Masters, which goes to show how much I enjoy playing the tournament. It’s one a lot of the players look forward to every year, because it’s a nice relaxing week, the hotel on site is great, we normally get pretty good weather at that time of year and the course usually offers a lot of birdie chances.
“My record maybe isn’t as good as I’d like, but I shot a 63 in the second round in 2013 so I know how to go low round there. I missed the tournament last year because I took some time off after The Ryder Cup, but I’m looking forward to going back this year.”
