By John Tully-Jackson
Martin Kaymer has grappled with his pre-season routine for years but hopes he’s got it right this time.

Switching between spending the festive period on the slopes amongst loved ones and putting in the hard yards on the range on his lonesome in the U.S., the world No.75 seems to have found the answer as he enters Saturday at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA at -7, five shots adrift of leader Thomas Pieters.

“The first five, six years being on tour, I always went to America and practiced there. But then, you never really spend time with your family and with your friends and that should be the time. So then I had a couple years after that where I went skiing and I tried skiing for the first time three or four years ago, and it was nice, too. But I always felt like I had a bad conscience; I should do something, because I’ve done it many years before.”

It has been four years since Kaymer’s last win, the 2014 U.S. Open, his second major, and he’s reverted back to his tried and triumphant method, which saw him pick up his three Falcon trophies in 2008, 2010 and 2011.

“The last two winters, I did the same thing again. I went to America. It could be a bit of a lonely time. It’s Christmas and then it’s also my birthday, New Year’s Eve, where you should be with your family, and I’ve been on my own, which is okay if you have the goals that I have. You know, it’s a Ryder Cup year and I really want to be a part of that.

“So it’s okay. You have to sacrifice a few things in order to do well.”

No one could accuse the most successful player in Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship history of being lazy, and it seems the work has paid off. Back-to-back 34s on Friday followed his opening 69 to propel the German into contention to collect his fourth Falcon.

“I practiced a lot in the winter time, and it’s always difficult to know when the work you’ve put in, when it will pay off? Yesterday I drove it okay but not great. Today I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of good iron shots.”

“I could have shot three or four shots better today. My putter was a bit cold at some stages, but overall it was a solid start and after the break, I think it was a solid performance so far.”