Martin Kaymer hopes that a good week on the greens can propel him into contention at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
Kaymer leads the European Tour for strokes gained with approach shots this season, producing six top-ten finishes as a result.
However, despite finishing second at Valderrama and third at the Belfry this term, the German has not won since claiming his second Major at the 2014 U.S. Open Championship.
An opening three under par 69 at Jumeirah Golf Estates briefly gave the 35-year-old the clubhouse lead in Dubai and he felt that keeping the mistakes off his card was crucial.
“I hit a lot of solid iron shots today and I could make a few putts,” he said.
“I played solid. Didn't make many mistakes - I think that was the key.
“I kept it in the fairway most of the time, just hit very solid irons today.
“My iron game has always been very solid my whole career. At the moment I'm trying to work out my driving and putting. It's there, it's good, but it's not good in terms of competing every single week.
“I know I'm capable of that because driving was one of my strengths back in the day. Putting was always so-so. I've been working with Phil Kenyon quite a lot, just check-ups here and there, and it's one of those things, if it clicks, one day you can shoot six, seven, eight under par and then all of a sudden you're in the tournament.”
