World number one Martin Kaymer says seeking perfection cost him yet another missed cut in The Masters.
German ace says his preparations were wrong for Augusta
World number one Martin Kaymer says seeking perfection cost him yet another missed cut in The Masters.
The German was desperate to make his mark in the year's opening major after missing the cut on his first three visits but his attempts to work on the shots he thought were needed to succeed at Augusta National produced the same result - another halfway exit.
The writing was on the wall early as Kaymer crashed to an opening 78 and although he improved by six shots in round two he still finished way outside the cut line, finishing joint 82nd in the 99-man field.
"The first day I was trying to play the golf course in a perfect way - I think that was a big mistake," Kaymer said at Wentworth, where in a month's time he will try to add the European Tour's flagship BMW PGA title to his US PGA crown last August.
"Hit draws on certain holes, low shots, high shots, try to place the ball always on the right side of the hole. It was just not me - it's not the way I play.
"The second day I went out to just play my game. Play the way I want to play the golf course and not how the course wants to be played.
"So I did that and it was better.
"I need to play my game and it does not matter what course I play. Whether I play Augusta or Dusseldorf it should never change my swing or my golf game or my strategy."
Ernie Els was among those who had expressed surprise the moment Kaymer revealed he was changing his game for the first major of the year - one held on the same course every season.
Now the game's premier player will hope it is fifth time lucky when he returns next April.
Wentworth
At Wentworth on May 26-29 he will face golf's other three major champions in Charl Schwartzel, Graeme McDowell and Open winner Louis Oosthuizen.
"I have a few goals and one is definitely to win here. When I played for the first time in 2007 it was a huge thing to me and I called my brother from the putting green and said 'do you know where I'm standing now?'
"It's the home of the European Tour and it would be fantastic to win."
Kaymer took the world number one spot from Lee Westwood six weeks before The Masters but whether he will still be there when he tees it up at Wentworth remains to be seen.
Luke Donald will go top if he captures this week's event in America - The Heritage - and if he fails to do that Westwood can reclaim the position by taking this week's Indonesian Masters.
Kaymer isn't stressing though that he could be down to number three by Sunday night.
"It's important to be number one, but it's not the most important thing in my life," said the 26-year-old.
"One day it will change and I will be two, three, five - hopefully it does not happen, but it's not something I am scared to lose and as long as I try 100% that's all I can do."
