There are many reasons to believe Martin Kaymercan win the 74th Masters. None are bigger than thenumbers: He has risen to eighth in the World Rankingon the strength of five victories in the last 27months. The retrofitting of Augusta National meansthat the Masters is no longer merely what JohnnyMiller used to derisively call the "Augusta SpringPutting Contest," but the treacherous greens remain the course's mostfeared defense, and in 2009 Kaymer finished second on the Europeantour in both putts per round and putts per greens hit in regulation.
Then there's the gumption he displayed earlier this year at the Abu DhabiChampionship, where after holing a 15-footer to save par on the 71st hole hearrived on the par-5 home hole tied with Ian Poulter and a stroke ahead ofRory McIlroy. Kaymer smashed a drive well beyond his world-class adversariesand, from 276 yards out, followed with a laserlike three-wood to the heartof the green. Door slammed. "Nothing seems to faze him," marvels McIlroy.
For all that there is to like about Kaymer's game and guile, there is a more personal reason to fancy his chances at the Masters: This will be the first time he'll beplaying Augusta National in front of his father,Horst. Family has been at the heart ofall of Kaymer's triumphs in the game, andmore than a little tragedy too.
Kaymer, 25, grew up in Düsseldorf,Germany, playing the MettmannGolf Club, which was closeenough to the family home that he andhis brother, Philip, who is two years older,would occasionally ride their bikes to thecourse. Almost from the beginning Horstcompelled the boys to play from the tipson a 6,700-yard course, and he forbade theuse of a tee even when they were wieldingdrivers. "He wanted to make it morechallenging for us, so when we were allowedto use tees in tournaments, hittingthe driver would seem easy," says Martin.
Did Horst, a future senior club champion,use a tee during casual games with his sons?"Of course!" he says with a hearty chuckle."It is much better that way!"
Martin and Philip both displayed a naturalaptitude for the game, and they pushedeach other to get better — "Never competitive,always supportive," says Horst. He and hiswife, Rina, extracted a promise from the boysthat they would not compete against eachother in tournament play, but as teens Martinand Philip secretly entered a club championshipon opposite sides of the match-playbracket. The night before they were to meet inthe final they broke the news to their parents,who put aside their annoyance and followedtheir boys, cheering lustily. The match wasall square arriving on the 18th hole, a toughpar-4. Martin reached the green in regulation,while Philip missed it and had to chip up,giving his baby brother a putt for the victory.Martin proceeded to four-whack, handingthe title to Philip. "It is a favorite story in ourfamily," says Philip. "It is useful when we are,as you say in America, talking s---."
Martin survived the embarrassment andwent on to win a number of regional tournaments,and by his late teens he began toentertain notions of playing professionally.He was scared to death to tell his father, alongtime corporate executive who had alwaysmade clear to his sons that he expected themto become respectable white-collar professionals."Philip had too much brains to be agolfer, and law school was the right choicefor him," says Martin. "I remember I wasso nervous to tell my parents of my dream,but from the verybeginning theywere suppor tive."He turnedpro in 2005 andentered Europeantour Q school thatfall. In a showing of solidarity, Philip alsoplunked down the entry fee to play alongsidehis brother in the first stage. "He finishedlast, I finished first, so. . . ," says Martin,grinning. It was this result that sent Philipto law school.
After failing to make it through the finalstage, Martin landed on the European ProfessionalDevelopment mini-tour. During thesecond round of the 2006 Habsberg Classic,he parred the 1st hole,bogeyed the 2nd and thenplayed the next 16 holes in 14 under to shoota 59 that in Kaymer's mind should have beenlower. "I'm still annoyed that I parred the17th hole, a really easy par-5," he says. Moreimpressive than the 59 is that he threatenedto do it again the next day, eventually settlingfor a 62 to go 27 under for three rounds andwin by 10 strokes.
In August 2006 Kaymer was promotedto the Challenge tour, Europe's equivalentof the Nationwide circuit. His debut was tobe a triumphant homecoming at the VodafoneChallenge near Düsseldorf, a 30-minutedrive from the Kaymer family home. On themorning of the first round Rina, who hadbeen in poor health, suffered a bad fall andwas hospitalized for a battery of tests. Martin,normally reserved, isopenly emotional when he talks about his mother.
"When I heard thatshe was in the hospital, I didn't want to playgolf," he says. "It was like I had no fight in mybody. I didn't care about golf. All I could thinkabout was my mom."
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