Martin Kaymer is predicting another birdie blitz at this week’s Portugal Masters as The European Tour descends upon Oceânico Victoria Golf Course on the Algarve.
The World Number Six from Germany is in good form after finishing second in Switzerland last month, but knows he will need to go low in order to secure a first European Tour title since January.
“The golf course seems easy, there’s not a lot of rough, so I think people will see a lot of birdies,” said Kaymer.
The statistics certainly back-up that claim - the last four winners have been a cumulative 85 under par.
Kaymer himself is no stranger to great rounds at the venue - he opened with a 61 in 2007 before fading slightly into a tie for seventh.
“Everything really went my way,” he added. “It was just a brilliant day in general. Obviously it’s nice to remember.”
As for his current form, Kaymer added: “I’ve been playing fine. I was happy with my play at St Andrews for the Alfred Dunhill [Links Championship]. It was a shame on Saturday when I made 36 putts on an easy golf course, I shot myself out of the tournament.
“I look forward to playing here, it’s a big tournament. It would be nice to finish in the top three in The Race to Dubai at the end of the year.
“If you're a competitor and an athlete you want to finish as high as possible - you want to fight until the season is done.
“Then I have six weeks off where I can chill but before that I would like to put 100 per cent in and see if it works out.”
Kaymer is currently fifth in The Race to Dubai but feels this week’s €416,600 first prize gives him a good chance to move up, with the four players ahead of him taking a week off.
“My goal is to finish as high as possible, and the highest possible is to win, and I feel like I can win,” he said. “Otherwise I wouldn't have come here. It's a big tournament on The European Tour, and talking about The Race to Dubai, you can still make a lot of points at this tournament in order to move up a few spots.”
