1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Historic win

August 16, 2010

German golfer Martin Kaymer has won his first major tournament, clinching victory in a nail-biting playoff to secure the PGA championship title. It makes him the first German to win a PGA Championship.

https://p.dw.com/p/OoO1
Martin Kaymer of Germany
Kaymer had an uphill battle to reach the playoffImage: picture-alliance/dpa

German golfer Martin Kaymer won his first ever major tournament on Sunday, beating the American Bubba Watson to take the 92nd US PGA Championship.

The victory makes him the first German to win a PGA Championship and the second behind Bernhard Langer to win a grand slam.

Kaymer and Watson finished the course at Whistling Straights, Wisconsin, tied on 11-under 277. The result led to a three-hole playoff.

The 25-year-old German had an uphill battle during the regular round, needing a 15-foot putt to pull level with Watson on the final hole.

"To be honest, I felt a lot of pressure on my regular round today, especially the last four, five holes," said Kaymer. "It felt so great then to make the last putt on the round."

German golfer Martin Kaymer
Kaymer is the second German to win a major golf tournamentImage: picture-alliance/dpa

Watson won the first hole of the playoff when he birdied, but Kaymer came back strongly on the second, himself scoring a birdie.

Up the creek...

Watson got into trouble on the third hole , hitting his shot into a creek and handing Kaymer an advantage that he was able to capitalize upon.

There had been a certain amount of controversy when American Dustin Johnson appeared set to join Watson and Kaymer in the playoff. However, Johnson was slapped with a late two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a bunker.

The last, and only other, German to win a major was Bernhard Langer, who won the US Masters in 1985 and 1993.

Author: Richard Connor (AFP/Reuters/dpa)
Editor: Martin Kuebler