Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Kaymer in action during a practice round on Fire at JGE on Tuesday.

By Kent Gray
So how low will you have to go to win the inaugural Golf in Dubai Championship? Perhaps scarily so if Martin Kaymer’s premonition comes to pass.

The former world No.1 is predicting a birdie-fest on Fire as Jumeirah Golf Estates gets set to host the final fortnight of a season so bizarre the European Tour is also hosting an event in Sun City, the SA Open no less, this week.

But even with Lee Westwood conspicuous by his absence from the first round draw after being so loudly trumpeted as a drawcard this week, much focus will centre on Dubai as the new event leads into the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

Seeking his 12th European Tour win and the end to a title drought first dating back to the latter of his two major wins at the 2014 U.S. Open, Kaymer opens the new Golf In Dubai Championship in the company of fellow major champion Danny Willett and Belgian Ryder Cupper Thomas Pieters on Wednesday.

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With a reasonably intimate knowledge of Fire, Kaymer suspects a fast start will be required to contend given the generous fairways and receptive greens that are putting well. And he argues that kind of thinking, however inevitable, is potentially perilous.

“It’s not the most difficult golf course which we’ll play, which is also a danger – you take it too easy and think it’s a birdie-fest,” said Kaymer.

“On golf courses that are wide open I sometimes struggle to pick small targets. You think you can just hit it somewhere down there but it’s easy to get carried away with that attitude.

The Fire course at JGE.

“It’s very playable, the greens are lovely. It’s a great preparation for next week [the DPWTC]; I’m glad we can play the Fire course. I’ve played it many times in the past, usually the week before the UAE swing I come here and practice – play the Earth or the Fire course, so I am familiar with it.

“But you can see it’s a resort course, it’s for amateurs and they can have a great time. We will have a lot of birdies this week.”

TEE TIMES: Wednesday’s opening round draw for the Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World

Kaymer has come close to a breakthrough win this season, finishing second at the Andalucia Masters in September, T-10 at the BMW PGA Championship and T-5 in his last European Tour start at the Italian Open. There were missed cuts at the U.S. PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Scottish Open but he declared himself “very close” to a win ahead of Italy.

“… but in order to win you always need that little bit extra compared to the other competitors.

“Even at Wentworth [BMW PGA], I was playing good. Played three rounds of very solid golf – the first round was not so good – so I could creep into the top 10. That was still a positive looking back on the week.

Three wins in Abu Dhabi at least give the 35-year-old pedigree in the desert to fall back on this week.

“Once you have early success in your career on the golf course or in an area it’s very difficult not to like it,” he said. “Especially in Abu Dhabi, that was the first win of my career. I just really enjoy this part of the world, not just because of the golf but we stay in lovely hotels, the food is good, the people are nice, you usually have great crowds at the tournaments. The whole package suits me. I usually come from America spending December and January there and I always feel ready to play.”

It’s the same this week.

“It was a nice break, I could work on a few things. I was in Florida practicing; for the last 10-12 days I was working a bit on my short game and my driving which I wasn’t that happy about over the last few weeks I played. But I’ve had good finishes recently so it’s nice to build on something.”