(11) THE RISE OF A US CHAMPION FROM GERMANY.

Only four years ago USPGA Champion, Martin Kaymer was playing on mini tours between Germany and Spain. He joined the EPD Tour in Germany and the Hi5 Pro Tour based in Spain to learn his trade.

At first there was little to show that Kaymer was going to be a champion. "He was a big hitter but his short game was below average. The one thing in his favour was he wasn't afraid to work hard and he wasn't afraid to learn," said Nigel German from the Hi5 Pro Tour.

Towards the middle of the 2006 season the hard work started to pay off. He shot a 59 in one of the EPD events which led to an invite into a Challenge Tour event in his homeland of Germany. Kaymer made the sponsors proud when he lifted the trophy. That gave him full playing rights on the Challenge Tour and over the remaining seven tournaments he won again and was in the top 10 nearly every week.

At the end of the season he had moved into 4th on the Order of Merit table which earned him a place on the main European Tour for 2007.

Kaymer continued his amazing rise through 2007 by recording five top ten finishes in his first full year on the European Tour, becoming the first German to be named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.

Kaymer's first victory came in his first outing of 2008 in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. It was followed by a win in Germany at the BMW International Open that moved him into the World's top 50.

Kaymer continued in 2009 with sensational wins at the Open de France and The Scottish Open, to rise to 11th in the world. Now some four years later, Kaymer is a Major Champion, leads the Race To Dubai with €2,254,400 and is number 5 in the World and rising.