Martin Kaymer throws caution to desert winds to foil Ian Poulter in Abu Dhabi

Martin Kaymer, seemingly the master of all he surveys in this part of the world, took everything that Ian Poulter could throw at him before emerging victorious after a brilliant final day at the Abu Dhabi Championship yesterday.
Kaymer, winner here in 2008 and runner-up a year later, had a round of 66 for a 21-under-par total of 267 and victory by one shot over Poulter, who also went round in 66, and two over Rory McIlroy, who lost touch with the pair midway through the outward nine but fought back to finish with a 67.
When the world rankings are released later today, Kaymer, who started the week at No 14, is expected to have moved up eight places to No 6, with Poulter at No 10, his highest ranking, and McIlroy at No 11. That would be just reward after a day in which Poulter and Kaymer, in particular, traded blow for blow, birdie for birdie, with golf of the highest order.
One stroke behind at the start of the day, Poulter opened with three birdies on the trot, drawing level at the 3rd, and took the lead for the first time with his sixth birdie, at the 12th. Six under par after 12 holes would normally be regarded as championship winning form, except that Kaymer was equal to the task. Both players reached the turn in 32, McIlroy taking three shots more.
Kaymer, a 25-year-old German, drew level once more with a huge birdie putt at the 14th and then, after chipping past the hole, held his nerve to sink one of about 15 feet at the 17th to save par when it looked as if he would go to the last trailing by a shot. In fact, Poulter was most disappointed with his own birdie attempt at that hole. He hit it perfectly on line from 20 feet, but it came up agonisingly short. It was a telling moment.
At the par-five 18th, Kaymer finished well past the Englishman with his drive and was able to reach the green with his three-wood approach from 275 yards. Poulter and McIlroy had been forced to lay up and were unable to exert any pressure on Kaymer with their approach shots.
And when the German ran his first putt from 60 feet to within three feet of the hole, he was able to start mentally celebrating his fifth victory on the European Tour in two years. It brought him a first prize of €250,000 (about £220,000) and gave an early boost to his bid to make the Europe Ryder Cup team later this year.
Asked if he had considered laying up at the 18th, Kaymer was bemused. “No way,” he said. “I’m an aggressive player and I wanted a birdie on the last. I knew if I got that, I knew I would at least be in a sudden-death play-off. We were all playing so well. It was all about birdies, birdies, birdies. We were going for the flags, going for the putts. We just went for everything, which was great.”
Between them, the group were 17 under par for the day, which is exceptional scoring in anybody’s book. And that is probably why Poulter accepted his fate with such good grace. “I’m pretty frustrated that I have walked away shooting that score and I haven’t won,” he said. “But Martin played very well. And what more can you want? When other parts of the world are suffering right now, you just realise how fortunate you are to be playing golf for a living.”
In three years playing the pristine National Course, Kaymer is a barely credible 56 under par. He, for one, will hope the tournament remains at the same venue next year, although the chances are that it will be moved to one of the new courses taking shape on the nearby multibillion-dollar development of Saadiyat Island.
Back to his best after a 2009 season that was curtailed when he broke his right foot in a go-karting accident last August — the metal plates have still to be removed — Kaymer has improved beyond all recognition from the player whose first victory on the European Tour was here in 2008. He led from start to finish that year but struggled to get across the finishing line.
Now, the barriers have come down. “My self-confidence is much higher than two years ago,” he said. “It comes from winning and playing around the world. You feel really comfortable when you know you can beat these guys.” McIlroy is another player closing in on another victory. At 20, his only victory so far was at the Dubai Desert Classic last year. But this was his seventh top-five finish in nine events, which is highly impressive. Soon, he will take some stopping.
Source:The times