Martin Kaymer clinched his first title of 2012 as he won the Nedbank Golf Challenge in rainy conditions at the Gary Player Country Club by two strokes from local hero Charl Schwartzel on Sunday.
The German started the day at five-under par for the tournament and enjoyed a slender one-stroke lead when he teed off. However, a serious bottleneck at the top meant that he would face stiff competition with numerous players making early moves at the beginning of the final round.
Kaymer looked to have made the ideal start as he eagled the par-five second, but cancelled it out immediately after with an ugly double-bogey at the third. The chasing pack seized the opportunity and, at one stage, he had Schwartzel, Bill Haas and Louis Oosthuizen for company at five-under.
But as the rain teemed down, the 27-year-old Kaymer came good as he put together three birdies in a row around the turn. He also had a few fortuitous breaks on the back nine as some wayward tee shots went unpunished, most notably on the 14th where he scrambled to make a pivotal birdie.
And, although Schwartzel pushed him all the way, the German showed tremendous tenacity as some crucial recovery shots and clutch putts on a difficult back nine were enough to post a final round of 69 which got him over the line by two shots.
The win firmly underlines Kaymer’s return to form after a difficult 2012. Since his heroics in the Ryder Cup, the former PGA champion has been knocking on the door and he’s finally broken the victory drought to claim the lucrative winner’s cheque of $1,250,000.
The South African crowds had every reason to believe that they would see a South African lift the crystal trophy for the first time since 2007, as Schwartzel and Oosthuizen made impressive starts to their days.
