Kaymer’s stats a nightmare for USGA

Martin Kaymer is probably best described as being a quiet and unassuming guy.

He’s not controversial and most often prefers to let his clubs do the talking, much like his great mentor and fellow German Bernhard Langer. But, one suspects, that after two phenomenal opening rounds of 65 at the US Open, the gloves are coming off and things are about to get ugly at Pinehurst!

130 shots for 36 holes has never been shot in the entire history of the US Open, before Kaymer’s sensational second round yesterday, but if that were not bad enough, the Europeans once again seem to already have one hand on the trophy this year and, for the proud Americans, that may just be a step too far.

Last night will have been a long one for Mike Davis, the USGA’s executive director, in the press room. Charged with setting up the course for the US Open, he most likely have been demonised for allowing anyone, regardless of their pedigree, to shoot 130 over the first 36 holes of a US Open Championship. No doubt he stoutly defended himself, but if the press want true answers then they should look no further than the man who created all the controversy.

Kaymer’s statistics for the week are already mesmerising and give a wonderful insight into why he has been so successful over the first two rounds. For example, he is driving the ball on average 23 yards longer than his fellow competitors (303 yards to 280), but length is only good if you can back it up with accuracy and, to date, he has hit 89% of his fairways (25 out of 28) as compared to the field’s average of 72%.

So, he’s hitting it long and very straight which means he is also playing shorter approach shots to the greens, so it should be no surprise he has hit 72% (26 of 36) of his greens in regulation as compared to a field average of just 55%.

And, as if that were not already enough, he is also holing more putts, averaging 1.5 putts per green compared to his competitors’ average of 1.64 per green. His utter dominance is most critically borne out by the 11 birdies and just the solitary bogey he has made over the first 36 holes.

It’s very rare that you will ever see a player dominate the statistics as much as Kaymer has done over the first 36 holes, especially in a major championship which contains 59 of the world’s top 60 players. But we already know Kaymer is a former world number 1 player and a major champion. He is a proven talent and a fearless competitor who has run back into form over the past couple of months — at a time when many might have walked away from the challenges of rising competition after two barren years – by winning The Player’s Championship at Sawgrass.

In winning he has again proven his remarkable resilience in overcoming a negative spell and this will now stand to him as he attempts to dispose of his potential challengers over the coming days.

So what can the rest of the field as well as the USGA do to try to rein him in? From the USGA’s perspective all that they can do is to try to get the greens a little firmer by rolling and not watering them. But, bearing in mind they also have a Ladies US Open at the same venue next week, their hands are somewhat tied.

They can tuck the pins away even further but is that to the rest of the field’s advantage or at this point is it simply about damage (scoring) limitation for the USGA?

As for the players, they just have to hang in there grimly in the hope they can claw away at Kaymer’s lead and hope he makes enough mistakes from here on in to allow them back in.

Over the first two rounds his game has been flawless and for a man in such a rich vein of form and capable of hitting whatever shot is required its all about Martin Kaymer now staying out of his own way and letting it all happen. Time and time again, he has proven his mental strength, none more so than when holing the crucial European winning Ryder Cup putt at Medinah in 2012

In a game that revels in its unpredictability, where failure is a familiar foe, the one sure certainty is Kaymer will not back down over the coming days. His charming modesty off the course disguises a cold-hearted ruthlessness that just may see this modest and good-humoured man win his second major championship.