Kaymer looking to finish on a high
US Open champion Martin Kaymer hopes to finish his year off in style at the Nedbank Golf Challenge this week.
While the tournament at Sun City in South Africa is actually the start of the 2015 European Tour schedule, for Kaymer it signals the end of a year that saw him win his second major title at Pinehurst in June.
Following the Nedbank Challenge, he will take part in one other tournament before taking a well-deserved break.
“It has been a long season, probably the longest I’ve ever played,” said the 29-year-old, who also helped Europe retain the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September.
“After Dubai I didn’t hit a golf ball until this morning when I warmed up for the pro-am.
“There won’t be much practice this week as it’s just about conserving energy.
“When I play on Thursday I’m not going to be tired on the golf course.
“Once the tournament starts, there’s no problem with motivation. Of course you want to play and you want to win.
“I’ve got one more tournament after this and then I’ll be heading home to Germany for a good break.
“It’s been years since I spent Christmas in Germany so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Looking ahead to the specific challenge at Sun City, Kaymer hopes to feed off of previous experience.
“I know the golf course well and I won here in 2012, so there are a lot of positive memories,” he told europeantour.com.
“It’s an important tournament and it would be nice to make a strong start to the 2015 campaign but it’s also the end of a long year and you want to enjoy it a little bit.”
Joining Kaymer in the field are his Ryder Cup team-mates Thomas Bjorn – the defending champion – as well as Jamie Donaldson, Stephen Gallacher and Lee Westwood.
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