Capelle On Golf

I’m always on the lookout for the next potential Tiger beater, especially among the younger players. The newcomers with potential are particularly fascinating because they haven’t been out on tour for five or ten years like the Sergio Garcia’s of the world, getting their psyche’s ground into mush.

Martin Kaymer, aged 23, has been hailed as the best German golfer since Bernhard Langer, and his play late last year and early this season indicated that he was bursting with promise. As the 2007 season concluded, Kaymer had edged up to #76 in the WGR on the strength of a 7t at the Portugal Masters and a sixth at the Volvo Masters in his last two events.

At the 2008 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, he won on the European Tour for the first time by four shots over ET heavyweights Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson. He was second in GIR at 81.9%, indicating that his ball striking played a big role in his victory. His ranking jumped to #34 – in the world no less!

After missing the cut in his next event, he closed with two birdies and an eagle to finish a shot behind Woods at the Dubai Classic. This catapulted the relatively unknown youngster in the #21 slot on the WGR. Hm! Maybe this kid’s got some game.

At this point, Kaymer had qualified for the WGC Accenture in three weeks, his debut on the PGA Tour. And then his fortunes began to change. He lost his first round match, but he still clung to the #22 ranking. Two subsequent events on the PGA Tour and one in Europe resulted in a missed cut, a 57t, and a 39t. By now he had slipped to #26.

But the Masters awaited where he had a chance to prove his high ranking was no fluke. He opened with a 76, which is understandable for a Masters rookie, then added a 72 to complete 36 holes at +4, one above the cut line. If he had only parred the par 5 fifteenth, he would have made the cut with a stroke to spare. When the WGR were announced on Monday, he had slipped four more spots to #30.

When Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods hit the tour, it didn’t take them long to build their momentum. Nicklaus finished second in his sixth event of his rookie season and won his second major as a pro. Woods won his fifth tournament in his rookie season and first major as a pro. From that point, neither player looked back.

A big problem in the Tiger Woods Era has been the trips up and down the WGR escalator of the young hopefuls. Just when a player like Anthony Kim, or Martin Kaymer gets up a head of steam and looks like they’ve got breakout potential, they retreat back into obscurity. Maybe these players and others who have made their move and fallen back will reemerge again, ready to scale to new heights. Let’s hope so, cause Tiger could always use some competition.