Golf-Masters-Kaymer still no closer to mastering Augusta (Reuters)

By Julian Linden

AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 7 (Reuters) – Martin Kaymer trudged
away from the Masters a broken man on Thursday, beaten into
submission again by the Augusta National course he had so
desperately wanted to conquer.

The world number one was made to look like any weekend
hacker after shooting a six-over-par 78, his worst single round
in four appearances at the Masters.

In each of his three previous trips to Augusta, Kaymer
failed to make the cut and the German will need an amazing
turnaround on Friday to avoid making another early exit.

“There’s some golf courses that suit you and some they just
don’t,” Kaymer told reporters. “It’s obviously a huge
tournament here and if it doesn’t really suit your eye … it’s
a little frustrating.”

Kaymer’s performance left him feeling more deflated than
usual. He struggled in previous rounds at Augusta but embraced
a radical strategy he hoped might end his wretched luck.

Instead of honing his skills in the cut and thrust of a
competition, he took a two-week holiday with his family to
clear his mind.

“I need to try something different again,” he said. “I
don’t know what I have to do here. Maybe one day it will work
out.”

Kaymer, who won the U.S. PGA Championship in a playoff at
Whistling Straits last year and recently took over as the world
number one, said he was at a complete loss about how to play
the course so was going to seek advice from compatriot Bernhard
Langer, the 1985 and 1993 Masters champion.

“There’s not really a game plan,” said Kaymer. “I think that
I don’t really know how to play the golf course.

“I think that maybe I’ve got to sit down with Bernhard
Langer later and ask him.

“He’s won here twice and I think I can only get good advice
from him.”
(Editing by Steve Keating; To query or comment on this story
email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)