Kaymer focused on getting back to his best

Martin Kaymer is hoping to continue his strong start to the 2020 Race to Dubai as he makes his debut at the Oman Open this week.

The German has finished in the top 20 in his three events so far as he looks to change his consistency of the last two seasons into the sort of form that made him the best in the world at the start of the last decade.

He already has a career that would stand up in any era, winning the Race to Dubai and two Major Championships, reaching the top of the Official World Golf Ranking and holing the vital putt as Europe completed the Miracle of Medinah in 2012.

The 35-year-old is without a victory worldwide since his triumph at the U.S. Open Championship in 2014, however, and last Spring came close to dropping out of the world's top 200.

After changing the trajectory of his driving to get more length off the tee, he has now turned his attention to his putting, and he is focused on doing the work to get back to the top, starting this week at Al Mouj Golf.

"I was just going with the flow the last two or three years and took my game for granted a little bit," he said. 

"I didn’t really work on one specific thing and the last few years it was quite clear where my weakness was in my game as I was losing a lot of shots on the green - outside 10-12 feet I couldn’t make a putt and that led to me not scoring and shooting those low scores that give you an opportunity on the Sunday. 

"I worked a lot on the short game over the winter and I also wanted to drive the ball further without screwing up my natural shot and that takes some planning and communicating with the coach. 

"You have to be brave with these things. It’s easy to try and change something but it doesn’t really go the way that you want it right away and then you fall back into your old habits.

This year I have a very good plan and I’m trying to qualify for all the big events such as The Ryder Cup, Olympic Games, Masters and The Open Championship

"For me, it was more of the mentality of continuing that process as I knew what the other outcome was and that didn’t quite work out for me the last two years. I wanted to and needed to change something and become an even more complete player to try and win tournaments again. 

"I really miss that feeling. This year I have a very good plan and I’m trying to qualify for all the big events such as The Ryder Cup, Olympic Games, Masters and The Open Championship. I’ve played in all those events before but this year that’s not going to be the case so it’s something I’m looking forward to try and achieve.

"I can’t really tell you where my game is at right now, which is the exciting thing. I know I’m doing the right thing but I’ve just got be patient and let it happen. The expectations are quite high because you're doing everything right and hitting 63 in a practice round but you still need to do that in a tournament so it’s just a matter of time."

Kaymer also has long-time caddie Craig Connelly back on the bag for a third spell and he is delighted to be back in tandem with the Scotsman - known on Tour as The Wee Man.

"It’s nice once you’ve found somebody that you’ve been through the good and the bad times with," he said. "More of the good times really, because we started working together in 2010 and I had a good few years and he really understands me as a person. 

"It’s more about the personality and finding someone that you get along with, understands you and what your goals are. He understands that and knows what I’m capable of so it’s nice to be reminded of that sometimes as you forgot. 

"We tend to focus on the things that we aren’t doing great but sometimes you need to be reminded of what you have already done in your career and good of a player you are. He is a very positive person and that has really helped me."