Martin Kaymer has disclosed a brutal comment made to him at the PGA Championship Champions Dinner, which he says motivated him to silence his critics at Aronimink. The 41-year-old German carded a three-under-par 67 in the opening round on Thursday, placing him among a seven-way tie for the lead alongside Scottie Scheffler, Alex Smalley, Ryo Hisatsune, Min Woo Lee, Stephan Jager, and Aldrich Potgieter.
Kaymer's Revelation
Kaymer, a two-time major champion and winner of the 2010 PGA Championship, recounted the incident at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday evening. A guest from the PGA of America asked him if he still played golf, seemingly unaware that Kaymer was competing that week. "I'll tell you a funny story," Kaymer said. "On Tuesday evening we had the champion's dinner, and there was a gentleman sitting next to me from the PGA of America and he asked me if I still play. And I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'Well, are you playing this week?' And I said, 'Yeah, that's why I'm here. I'm not flying from Europe to here to have a New York strip with you guys. Of course I'm playing.'"
Kaymer admitted the unintentional slight gave him a boost during his opening round. "And that really motivated me. So it was a good start to the week. Again, I really enjoy Aronimink Golf Course. It really suits my eye. It's a very fair test. Great for the PGA Championship. It's fun to play and I look forward to hopefully have another three good days."
Kaymer's Career and Current Form
The German star won the PGA Championship in 2010 and became world number one the following year. He also triumphed at the 2014 US Open but has since managed only one top-10 finish at a major. Despite his impressive track record, it appears the LIV Golf star was overlooked by at least one guest at the dinner, who questioned whether he was still playing professionally.
Other Contenders' Performances
While Kaymer has his sights set on reclaiming past glories, other leading stars endured a difficult opening day. Masters champion Rory McIlroy is languishing in a tie for 103rd on four over par after finishing with four straight bogeys, severely denting his hopes of capturing the first two majors of the season. When asked to sum up his round, McIlroy bluntly responded: "S***." He added: "I'm just not driving the ball well enough. It's been a problem all year for the most part. I miss it right and then I want to try to correct it. And then I'll overdo it, and I'll miss it left. It's a little bit of back and forth that way. So that's pretty frustrating, especially when I pride myself on driving the ball well. I just need to try to figure it out. I honestly thought I'd figured it out."
