G Mac takes clubhouse lead as Kaymer stutters
In a week that could still provide the mother of all blockbuster finishes for Martin Kaymer, the formidable young German is off to a sloppy start at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters today - while his chief rival for the Race to Dubai, Graeme McDowell, is the current clubhouse leader.
If Kaymer can win this week's event, it will be his fourth European Tour victory on the bounce. That's impressive in itself, but the achievement would nonetheless be overshadowed by Kaymer's rise to the world No. 1 ranking. Victory or even a second-place finish, so long as he's not tied with more than one other player, will see the 25-year-old depose Woods, who has held the top spot for the last 281 weeks.
But Kaymer got this week's campaign off to a poor start today, three birdies and four bogeys dooming the PGA Championship winner to a one-over-par 72 opener that currently sees him tied for 37th place, though with several players yet to finish he could wind up further down the leaderboard. Still time to recover of course, but the initial signs are not auspicious.
McDowell, however, appears determined to give the Dusseldorf-born player a run for his money. The Ulsterman lies nearly a million Euros behind Kaymer in the money list, but with the season approaching its climax with the Dubai World Championship at the end of November, that ground can still be made up.
This year's US Open champion was solid rather than spectacular today, McDowell starting well with a birdie on the 1st but only adding two further birdies through the rest of his round, though he didn't drop a shot either.
Regardless, with a gap of just four strokes between the two Ryder Cup teammates, there's still plenty of time for Kaymer to get back into this contest.
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