Comments on: Meet Martin Kaymer - superstar in the making

By: mel

mel — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:56:15 +0000

Phil - I think your point about Martin Kaymer scoring only 6 bogeys in 72 holes is more important than people might realise. Rory McIlroy makes lots of birdies but far too many bogeys. If he can find a way to stop dropping so many shots then he should start winning regularly. This line of thinking takes us back to Jack Nicklaus who very rarely beat himself and to Tiger Woods at his peak who knew better than anyone how to make par when he really needed it.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 01:13:45 +0000

Mel, Thanks. It appears that Kaymer, in particular, has got the conservative course management down to a science. As a result, he scored only 6 bogeys in 72 holes.

BD, My take on Kaymer is a prediction base on available evidence. It will, of course, take time for it to pan out. Like you, I would love to see the return of the 4, 5, 6+ winning superstars. I was pulling for Rory because I think he can win majors in droves once he breaks the ice. As for robots, Hogan and Nicklaus were robotic, but winning tends to make a player more attractive.

By: BD

BD — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:11:37 +0000

It was a well-deserved win, but I think it’s way too soon to tag Kaymer as “one of the top two or three players of the post Woods’ Peak Era, if not the best.” I think Rory has a much better shot of becoming one of the game’s all-time greats. Anyway, a player is going to have win at least 4-5 majors in order to make us really care if he’s one of the best of the post-Tiger era. Kaymer — or for that matter ALL of these first-time winners we’ve been seeing lately — needs to back it up with more championships before we start thinking in terms of legacy.

And say this for bomb-and-gouge: It makes for much more interesting golf. The game has been blessed to have two guys at the top for the last half-generation who can hit it long, find some trouble, and yet pull the rabbit out of the hat for the win. God help us if golf’s next chapter is written by a bunch of robotic Europeans who never miss a fairway or a green.

By: mel

mel — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:32:47 +0000

Gosh - sorry - the name is mel not “mek”. Too much coffee this morning I suppose. lol.

By: mek

mek — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:31:36 +0000

Another great blog post – a nice change from the non-stop Dustin Johnson discussions. I watched the PGA Championship all four days and I was struck by the differences in approach between the young American players and the young non-Americans. So many of the young Americans – Dustin, Bubba, etc. seem to have patterned their game after Tiger and Phil – hit the ball as far as you possibly can and hope to extricate yourself from any trouble. Many of the non-Americans seem to use the Jack Nicklaus approach – how can I avoid a big number. It isn’t surprising to me that the last three winners of majors were the fellows who played steady, smart golf while those around them were finding trouble.