The strongest field in the history of the BMW PGA Championship is warming up with Martin Kaymer and Charl Schwartzel, the game’s most recent Major Champions, raring to go.
Kaymer, the reigning European Number One and US PGA Champion, and Schwartzel, winner of the Masters Tournament in April, have been paired together for the first two rounds and are joined in the field by US Open Champion Graeme McDowell and Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen as golf’s four Major Champions compete in The European Tour’s flagship event.
For Kaymer, it is a chance to regain the World Number One position although he would have to leap over the current incumbent Lee Westwood and Number Two Luke Donald with a win or second place. Nevertheless, with six of the world’s top seven, four current Major Champions and all but one of the victorious European Ryder Cup Team in the field – Harrington forced to withdraw through injury – these are heady times for the BMW PGA Championship.
“I think it’s probably the best field we have ever had here,” commented Kaymer. “It’s a fantastic venue and always a tournament I wanted to win as it is the home of The European Tour. It would be fantastic to raise the trophy one day.”
As for the dominance of European Tour players on the world stage right now, the German added: “I think The European Tour and George O’Grady can be really proud of his work over the last few years. I believe it started with Harrington when he started winning Majors. That gave myself and a lot of Europeans belief. Everyone was thinking only the Americans could win Majors – Tiger, Phil and those guys. Then Padraig won three Majors and Graeme McDowell won the US Open. Everything started with Padraig.
“At the moment there are so many great golfers that it is not always about the top five in the world. There are 20, 30 or 40 guys who can win a Major these days and that’s exciting, and I think we are very fortunate to have a lot of Europeans up there.”
South African Schwartzel may not be European as such, but is a long time European Tour Member he is certainly considered European by Kaymer.
“This is for me where is started,” said the Masters Champion. “I’ve been here almost nine years in Europe. This is where I learned.”
Asked for his thoughts on the European success story, he said: “America’s been dominant for a long time. But the European golf is so strong, I don’t think that’s any surprise. I think world golf is getting stronger, and at the end of the day, America is a big place, but the world is slightly bigger.”
Schwartzel is also relishing the rivalry with fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen.
He said: “It was good to see him win and that inspired me. Now that I won, I think we both sort of had a silent smile; we’ve got that first Major. Both of us want to keep going, so we’ve got that rivalry. It never stops. If you haven’t won a Major, people say when are you going to win one. Then you win one and they say when are you going to win the next. And then you get to the top ten in the world, they want to know when you are going to be Number One. It never stops. And it’s the same here. We both won one, and why stop.”
The BMW PGA Championship starts on Thursday.Click here for the draw.
