Kaymer equals season's best at Portugal Masters

2007-10-18

Share this article:  Digg |  StumbleUpon |  del.icio.us |  Reddit

By Mark Garrod Special to PA SportsTicker

VILAMOURA, Portugal (Ticker) -- Martin Kaymer, one of the few golfers in the world who knows what it is like to score 59, sparkled again when he began the $4.09 million Portugal Masters in Vilamoura with an 11-under-par 61 on Thursday.

The 22-year-old German rookie left the rest of the star-studded field trailing in his wake by equaling the lowest round of the European Tour this season and clipping two strokes off the Oceanico Victoria Club's course record.

Kaymer leads by three over Argentina's Daniel Vancsik and Swede Martin Erlandsson, with Lee Westwood and Retief Goosen in a group of four strokes back. Order of Merit title hopeful Justin Rose is eight behind and 18-year-old rising star Rory McIlroy 10 adrift.

It was in a mini-tour event in his home country in June last year that Kaymer fired his 59, holing an 18-foot putt on the final green to add to 11 other birdies, an eagle and even a bogey.

There was still one more round to play in the tournament, but he closed with a 10-under 62 to win by 10 strokes.

The Dusseldorf golfer missed six of his first seven halfway cuts on entering the European Tour this season, but since has posted second- and third-place finishes and stands 54th on the money list with more than $762,000.

Now he has a chance to almost double that and move into the top 20 after finishing his day's work with five successive birdies for an inward 29.

"The weather was perfect and I was waiting for this day for a couple of weeks," he said. "I've been playing really good, but my putting was so-so. Today every putt went in."

Westwood had a 61 of his own in Cologne last month, but failed to go on and win. After carding a 7-under 65, he had a warning for Kaymer.

"It's tough to follow up a really low round even when you have lots of experience and know what to expect," Westwood said. "A 59 is on here if it does not get windy - par is really about 68. I shot 62 in the pro-am without really concentrating and I feel like I left a few out there today."

Westwood's aim is to join Tiger Woods as the tour's only three-time winners this season, but this is his last chance.

Like Order of Merit leader Ernie Els, Angel Cabrera and some others, Westwood has opted for the Singapore Open rather than the Volvo Masters in two weeks' time.

Els called it "crazy" at the weekend and Westwood agrees.

"Ridiculous," he said. "Two such tournaments should not be competing for players at this time of year."

Rose needs to finish first or second to leap ahead of Els and Padraig Harrington on the money list race. After suffering a recurrence of back trouble last weekend, he was delighted to kick off with two birdies.

Then, however, he hooked into the lake down the long 12th, ran up a double-bogey 7 and had to wait nine holes for his next birdie.

His 69 was still better than some other notables managed. Darren Clarke shot 70 and McIlroy admitted that after finishing third and fourth in his second and third professional events tiredness had a lot to do with his 71.

"This is my sixth week out of seven and I struggled with my ball-striking and my putting," the Northern Ireland youngster said. "I let a few things get to me."

His group also incurred the displeasure of Nick Dougherty in the three-ball ahead by driving as they were putting out on the 315-yard 15th.

"I thought I would give them a sign," said Dougherty, who held his arms up. "We would not have hit and it's the last thing you want - but it happens all the time."

Winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links title at St. Andrews two weeks ago, Dougherty returned to action with a 6-under 66 for a share of seventh place and has a great chance to take another mighty jump towards a Ryder Cup debut.