Top-20 European players to watch out for in 2012: Part-6
Kaymer surged to the top of the world rankings for the first time in February 2011, when he finished runners up at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship at Tucson, Arizona, to become only the second German player to achieve the milestone after Bernhard
Langer. Kaymer started off the current year with another blistering victory at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship where he successfully defended his title taking over rampaging Rory McIlroy in the final round. He remained off the high for many of the proceeding
events on the calendar, where he missed the cut in the Masters and finished for a disappointing joint 39th in the US Open. He managed to pull in eight top-ten finishes in his 22 starts on the European Tour, including runners up at Omega European
Masters. He closed the season with another victory at WGC-HSBC Champions where he defeated Swede Fredrik Jacobson by three strokes.
“So far it has been an okay season, but with that win, it has been a good season,” said Kaymer after his victory. “I won an HSBC tournament in Abu Dhabi this year in January, and it's nice to finish off with an HSBC tournament. It was an okay season, now
it's a good season. I played brilliant golf in Abu Dhabi, and when I became the Number One in the world in February after the World Golf Championships event in Arizona, my life has changed a little bit.”
Kaymer amassed a total of € 3,489,033 to settle for third place on the Race to Dubai points table with a scoring average of 70.11. Unlike Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy, Kaymer has declined an offer to join the PGA Tour next year and will remain associated
with European Tour for the moment.
Graeme McDowell
Official World Golf Rankings: 13
Race to Dubai Rankings: 16
European Tour wins in 2011: 0
Winner of the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach, Graeme McDowell became the first Northern Irishman to win one of the most prestigious title of the sport. Graduating from University of Alabama at Birmingham, McDowell was part of the Walker Cup Team in 2001 in
his amateur career.
He turned professional the next year and won his maiden title on the European Tour, the Volvo Scandinavian Masters, defeating grizzled Trevor Immelman by one stroke. He had to settle for a winless season the next year but went over to card another victory
on the tour in 2004 the Telecom Italia Open. For the next three years, McDowell vanished in oblivion, failing to win a single event through the stretch, although by this time, he was trying to manage his time playing on both European Tour and the PGA Tour
at the same time. The 32-year-old Irishman experienced resurgence in his career earlier at the start of 2008, when he bagged the Ballantine's Championship in Korea in March.
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