Kaymer wants to make magic
FORMER champ Martin Kaymer will be back on the fairways of the Gary Player Country Club next month in the hope of recapturing the magic that not only made him a multiple Major winner but also elevated him to the pantheon of Ryder Cup heroes.
But the German, who was the game’s top ranked player for eight weeks in 2011, has of late only sporadically shown signs of his previous form.
This will be Kaymer’s fifth visit and he will join a cast that is gradually falling into place for this year’s Nedbank Golf Challenge (NGC), to be held from the 3rd to the 6th of next month.
So far 28 names have been confirmed with two more slots up for grabs. The field now also includes American Kevin Na for whom it has been a case of close but no cigar over the last month or so.
He lost in a play-off at the Frys.com Open but he also boasts a second and a third place finish in his last four events.
Although he hasn’t pulled off a win in that period, his form is impressive and he’ll have every reason to be optimistic on his second visit to the NGC.
While this year’s field isn’t laden with the absolute cream of the world rankings, it does boast some in-form players. Returning this year is last year’s winner Danny Willett, who has continued his good form and still heads the Race for Dubai standings ahead of Rory McIllroy.
France’s Victor Dubuisson recently put his woes behind him when he triumphed in the Turkish Airlines Open, where he beat off the challenge of South Africa’s Jaco van Zyl. The South African has now cracked an invite to Sun City.
Both have made impressive starts to the BMW Masters in Shanghai this week.
England’s Andy Sullivan, who is the only three-time winner on the European Tour this year, as well as Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who won twice, are heading for the Pilanesberg.
Irishman Shane Lowry, who won this year’s World Golf Championship, joins Bernd Wiesberger (Austria), Byeong Hun An (South Korea), Søren Kjeldsen (Denmark), Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) and Chris Wood (England) – they all won on the European Tour this year.
“We now have two spots remaining for our field of 30, one of which will go to the winner of the Alfred Dunhill Championship the week before the Nedbank Golf Challenge,” said Alastair Roper, tournament director for the NGC.
Confirmed entry list: Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Thomas Aiken, Jaco van Zyl (all SA), Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley, Robert Streb, Scott Piercy, Kevin Na (all US), Lee Westwood, Danny Willett, Ross Fisher, Andy Sullivan, Matthew Fitzpatrick (England),Chris Wood (all England), Thongchai Jaidee, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (both Thailand), Marc Leishman, Steven Bowditch (Australia), Shane Lowry (Ireland), Victor Dubuisson (France), Bernd Wiesberger (Austria), Byeong Hun An (South Korea), Martin Kaymer (Germany), Henrik Stenson (Sweden), Søren Kjeldsen (Denmark), Emiliano Grillo (Argentina).