Kaymer wins PGA in playoff; Johnson out on penalty
HAVEN, Wis. - In other news Sunday at Whistling Straits, Martin Kaymer defeated Bubba Watson in a three-hole playoff to win the 92nd PGA Championship.
Lost amid the hoopla of the Dustin Johnson sand snafu was the fact that another young golfer captured his first-ever major, joining Graeme McDowell (31, U.S Open) and Louis Oosthuizen (27, British).
"I don't realize what happened," said Kaymer, 25, who tapped in from 2 feet on the third and final playoff hole to earn a tidy $1.35 million and a chance to wrap his arms around the Wanamaker Trophy.
"I just won my first major. I've got goose bumps just talking about it."
And the young German got goose bumps of another sort just thinking about Johnson's plight.
"Can you imagine if he would have made that putt at 18? He would have thought he won the golf tournament," Kaymer said.
Instead it was Kaymer of Germany who calmly handled the pressure - or so it seemed.
"I was not so calm, to be honest," said Kaymer, who moved to a career-best No. 5 in the world. "The last four or five holes I was very nervous. But I played solid golf."
Kaymer and Watson were tied after the first two playoff holes and both drove their balls into the rough on the No. 18. Watson elected to go for the green, but his shot was well off line and landed in the water.
"I was trying to win a golf tournament, make a good score," he said. "Came up short."
Kaymer proceeded to take the safe route, chipping out and leaving himself about 190 yards. He hit safely on the green with his next shot, then watched as Watson chipped over the green into a sand trap.
Watson nearly holed out his bunker shot (it hit the pin) for what would have been an unbelievable bogey.
Watson's runner-up spot was his best finish ever in a major.
"It was a weird day today obviously, with the finish that you saw," Watson said. "You know I wasn't on anybody's radar. Nobody probably talked about me this morning.
"I just put my head down and tried to play as good of golf as I could. I made some birdies, made some good pars and got a chance to go in a playoff."
And the fact that he didn't win was eased by some other news later in the day.
"I made the Ryder Cup team, so that's all I care about," Watson said with a smile. "That's my Olympics."
But it was Kaymer who will be carrying the torch after Sunday's performance.
"The majors are the biggest tournaments you can win in your career," he said. "Now I know that I can win and beat the best players in the world.
"This was the toughest field all year and just for the confidence factor - that is the biggest thing you can get."
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<li><a href="/story/?id=401102">Rules violation costs Johnson shot at a major <span class="date">[8/16/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=401114">Mickelson fires 67 and Woods starts strong, but top two players fall short <span class="date">[8/16/10]</span></a></li>
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