Struggling Kaymer serves up blistering round

BLISTERING heat and a blistered foot served only to bring out the best in young German star Martin Kaymer in Paris yesterday, the 24-year-old beginning the French Open Alstom with a course record-equalling 62.

So bad was Kaymer’s right foot that as well as being seen by a doctor he had a hole cut in his golf shoe to allow him to play Wednesday’s pro-am.

With the help of his three partners he won that by four with an amazing 16 under par best-ball of 55, but to be only seven worse than that on his own underlined what a massive talent he is.

“I’ve been missing a lot of short putts, but everything came together – and I hope it continues,” he said after taking a three-stroke lead over England’s 2006 winner John Bickerton, Thai Thongchai Jaidee, Australian Scott Strange, Swede Peter Hanson and Argentina’s Rafa Echenique, the man who was second to Nick Dougherty in Munich on Sunday after a closing albatross.

“The foot’s still hurting, but I will survive,” added Kaymer. “Yesterday when I was practising it was unbelievable pain, but now I don’t worry about it.”

Kaymer’s round actually began with a bogey, but after five birdies in the next nine holes he chipped in for eagle at the long third and finished with three more birdies for an inward 30.

Ian Poulter, in Europe for the first time this year, went in the water twice for a triple bogey seven on the 18th, his ninth, and had angry words with a photographer walking off the tee there.

But he said: “Take that hole out of it that was not disastrous. After I pulled the drive into the lake I dropped the ball in a smelly lie, but overall I played lovely.”

Dougherty followed up his win with a 66 and Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, without a top-10 finish since he was runner-up in this event last year, returned a 69, but major winners Jose Maria Olazabal, Angel Cabrera and John Daly all fared worse than Harrington.

Daly was already eight over when he quit with a bad back on the 17th, Olazabal had a 74 and the 75 of current Masters champion Cabrera meant he even finished five behind his 20-year-old son Federico.

The youngster was even on the leaderboard early in the day at three under, but then matched Poulter’s seven on the last.

Miguel Angel Jimenez, whose 500th European Tour event began with a hook into the water, hit back for a 67 and fellow Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal, the defending champion, matched that with five birdies in the last six holes – after a triple bogey eight on the ninth.