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By Joy Chakravarty
A heart-to-heart with his legendary playing partner Ernie Els has given fellow former world No.1 Martin Kaymer some clarity as the struggling German continues to trend in the right direction.

Winless since claiming the second of his two major championship titles at the 2014 U.S. Open, the 36-year-old kept in sight of the leaders at the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic with a two-under 70 on Friday.

Kaymer was one-over after a double bogey on the 11th hole in his opening round, but battled back to finish on four-under par after making five birdies in his last six holes.

On Friday, he continued his form to surge up the leaderboard with three early birdies, before a bogey on the par-4 8th hole pegged him back a bit. Still, at six-under par, he is only four shots behind leader Thomas Detry at the halfway stage.

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“I have always greatly admired Ernie. I have played several rounds with him and he knows me and my game well. More importantly, his experience and his status in the game is massive,” said Kaymer.

“I spoke to him about finding a balance and asked him if he would be in my position being 36 years old, what would he do? The biggest takeaway for me was that he said to sharpen all parts of the game, so that even if I don’t have a great week, I finish in the top-15, top-20.

“Those sharpness in little parts of the game is difficult to get if you keep playing all around the world, and that thing has sidetracked me a little bit. So, I guess I need to work a little bit more, but I enjoy the work.”