Kaymer pulls 5 shots clear in Abu Dhabi
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THREE-TIME winner Martin Kaymer tightened his grip on the Abu Dhabi Championship yesterday, shooting a 5-under 67 to pull five strokes clear midway through the second round.
Two brilliant shots from the sand were the highlights for the overnight leader, who chipped in from a greenside bunker on his 10th hole and set up his fifth and last birdie with a 105-yard approach to 8 feet from a fairway bunker on his 17th.
By following up a first-round 64 to lie on 13 under overall, Kaymer is 100 under par for his last 30 rounds on the National Course, where he won in 2008, ‘10 and ‘11.
Kaymer, who led by one shot overnight, is a strong frontrunner after his wire-to-wire victories in last year’s US Open and in Abu Dhabi in ‘08.
He could even challenge his own record low total in this tournament, set in ‘11 when he shot a 24-under 264.
“It’s one of the only tournaments where you stand on the first tee and you pretty much know you have birdied every single hole,” said Kaymer, who added that he found it easy to read the greens in Abu Dhabi.
France’s Alexander Levy (70) and Australia’s Richard Green (68) are Kaymer’s closest challengers on 8 under. Sweden’s Robert Karlsson (71) made a triple bogey on his last hole to drop to 6 under.
Top-ranked Rory McIlroy, who shot 67 on Thursday, is among the afternoon starters chasing Kaymer.
Playing in ideal conditions and without a hint of wind, the German’s unforgiving driving and iron play was as strong as in the first round but his putting wasn’t as prolific.
His bogey-free score could have been lower, with a 3-footer on No. 6 (his 15th) one of a number of birdie chances spurned.
Reeling Kaymer in on one of his favorite courses looks a forlorn hope for the strong field.
“Once you lead by four of five shots or even more, like what I’ve done at the US Open (where he won by eight shots), it’s important I believe to challenge yourself and not really compare yourself to other players or look for the other players,” Kaymer said yesterday.
“My game feels like there’s isn’t much that will go wrong.”
Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger shot a 65 for the lowest round among the morning starters.
In Honolulu, Webb Simpson made his debut with a conventional putter on Thursday and, after claiming a share of the lead at the Sony Open.
Simpson ditched his belly putter for a regular one for his 2015 debut and ran off eight birdies over his last 10 holes for an 8-under 62 that gave him a share of the lead with Paul Casey.
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