Even in a sport with professional results dating back to the 1800s, the overnight news almost universally astounded and amazed.
Key word: almost.
After a four-day display of tactical, practical precision, German star Martin Kaymer ran away with the US Open title at Pinehurst No 2 on Sunday to become the first player from continental Europe to win the American title.
At what usually is considered the toughest test among the major championships, Kaymer led from wire to wire. After a record-breaking start in the first two rounds, he never let anybody closer than four strokes.
It resulted in a Sunday parade lap that produced the second-lowest 72-hole score in US Open history.
“I think we were all playing for second,” runner-up Erik Compton said.
The dominance of Kaymer’s eight-shot victory generated acclaim and amazement – although in the UAE, it was met with knowing nods.
After all, the UAE capital has witnessed Kaymer’s tournament tourniquet act like no other region during his three HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship victories, including a record eight-shot win in 2011, one month before he became world No 1.
Hereabouts, there should be plenty of awe, though not much shock. The only real surprise is that it took Kaymer this long to win his second major because, when the 29-year-old Dusseldorf native gets on a hot streak, we have seen the damage, first-hand.
After a two-year victory drought borne of multiple swing changes, Kaymer won the Players Championship last month in Florida, the fifth-biggest tournament in the sport, holding at least a share of the lead after all four rounds.
He did it again at Pinehurst, opening with a pair of five-under 65s to set a US Open scoring record for 36 holes, eventually becoming the fifth player to win two majors and reach world No 1 before age 30.
It punctuated an abrupt turnaround after too many months of largely forgettable results. He had skidded to 63rd in the world six weeks ago.
Now he is back to world No 11, and climbing, and has secured a place in the DP World Championship in Dubai in November.
Not surprisingly, questions about his swing makeover and two-plus unproductive seasons were broached again after his comprehensive victory.
“I’ve answered that question so many times,” Kaymer said. “Honestly, I get tired of it, I’m sorry. But I just want to become a complete player. That’s it.
“It’s annoying. You don’t want to talk about that all the time. You want to focus on the main thing, and I don’t always have patience to answer every time the same thing.”
He did, anyway.
“I don’t want to be rude to people, so that’s why I kept answering,” he said.
He responded with exclamation marks over the past six weeks.
“It shouldn’t sound cocky or arrogant, but I knew it would come,” said Kaymer, only the 18th player to win the PGA and US Open titles. “I knew I would play good golf again.”
His 271 total over four days was three shots off the US Open record set by Rory McIlroy three years ago on a wet, less-demanding Congressional Country Club course.
“With all respect to Rory, this was a more complete performance than Rory’s,” World Golf Hall of Famer Colin Montgomerie said during the Golf Channel broadcast.
Kaymer drew raves for his seemingly impermeable persona, not that he faced much adversity compared to others.
As well as he played, his biggest obstacle was handling the mental duress that accompanied being the marked man at the most punitive event in the game.
He became the seventh player to win the American national title in wire-to-wire fashion and his eight-shot margin was the biggest in the US this season.
“He’s got the perfect mind for golf,” Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee said. “Watching him day after day, play on the leads, watching him work his way through these problems, adversity in the game of golf. He’s almost unflappable.”
It all began with his first European Tour win, in Abu Dhabi, in 2008. Two weeks later at the Dubai Desert Classic, he finished birdie-birdie-eagle, though Tiger Woods held on to win by a stroke.
Even with that kind of UAE pedigree, it was mildly surprising to many when Kaymer was signed to an endorsement deal by Etihad Airways in January. He had not won an official event on the European or PGA tours since November 2011 and was no longer in the world top 40.
The airline hit the lottery, or its marketing staff were prescient.
Or perhaps, given his play here over the years, an old saying applied to a not-so-old player. They had not forgotten that form is fickle, while class is permanent.
selling@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
RESULTS
Argentina 4 Haiti 0
Peru 2 Scotland 0
Panama 0 Northern Ireland 0
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Company%20Profile
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
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Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
'Will%20of%20the%20People'
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One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
No_One Ever Really Dies
N*E*R*D
(I Am Other/Columbia)
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