Golf Review / Craig Dutton / 21 January 2008 / Leave a comment

Craig Dutton says Martin Kaymer will do more in 2008 after his victory in the desert...

Martin Kaymer obviously put something in his tea before this weekend's Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, holding a 6-stroke lead going into the final day. As I began writing this, it looked to my eye that all trading opportunities had been exhausted. Players in worse form have managed to carry such leads over the finishing line - Kaymer's calmness around the course has generally shown him in good stead - but he had to survive a bit of a wobble with a final round 74 to claim his first tour title.

Nevertheless the Rookie of 2007 has translated that form into really solid golf early in 2008, and he has to be watched as the season progresses. It would be pathetic to pick holes in his performance - he took the field by the scruff of the neck on day one, and didn't really look back.

The confidence given by this 4-shot victory can't be overestimated - as a promising rookie, he undoubtedly feels the pressure I've no doubt Rory McIlroy shares. Converting potential into a victory will answer a lot of the questions Kaymer has asked himself in recent months. It will have also boosted the fortunes of TQ, my fellow blogger, who can now rightfully be called an in-form tipster!

Meanwhile the tournament underlined Lee Westwood's ability to challenge in almost any event in which he starts well. Any regular reader will know I long doubted the bottle of Westwood when it came to squeaky-bum situations. But not only did he have bottle, he had a crateful of them. He whipped them out when winning the British Masters, and a strong performance in this UAE tournament will only solidify his claims for a Ryder Cup slot. He must be a virtual certainty but he'll need to step up the consistency of his putting - the weakest area of his game.

But then, it seems, putting poses a great deal of problems for many golfers in the upper echelons. It's no surprise - in your office and bedroom, putting a ball is a doddle. In tournament play, it is the culmination of every effort - efforts that fade into the background, all concentration being placed on that one, little putt. Professional golfers might be able to manoeuvre a ball in ways you and I can only dream - over huge distances with great precision - and yet it is often the putts that even we can manage that catch them out from time to time. Put simply, it's not an easy game.