{"id":643844,"date":"2026-05-15T02:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T02:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/643844\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T02:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T02:30:13","slug":"motivated-by-champions-dinner-slight-martin-kaymer-shares-early-pga-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/643844\/","title":{"rendered":"Motivated by champions-dinner slight, Martin Kaymer shares early PGA lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

Martin Kaymer was asked by a PGA of America official during Tuesday night\u2019s PGA champions dinner if he still played golf, to which Kaymer, mildly offended, responded, \u201cI\u2019m not flying from Europe to here to have a New York strip with you guys. Of course I\u2019m playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat really motivated me,\u201d Kaymer said Thursday at Aronimink Golf Club, where the 41-year-old LIV Golf member turned back the clock to the days, over a decade ago now, when he was winning two majors and the Players Championship.<\/p>\n

Kaymer was one of several players to card a leading 3-under 67 around a difficult layout bolstered by tricky, sticky rough and challenging green complexes, plus cool, gusty conditions.<\/p>\n

But as surprising as it is to see names such as Aldrich Potgieter, Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger atop this leaderboard<\/a>, none of them entered this week with a recent resum\u00e9 like Kaymer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Since accompanying the first exodus of signings to LIV in June 2022, Kaymer has played just four majors, including two PGAs, where he\u2019s gone T-73 and MC the last two years. Go back further and Kaymer has missed five of his past six PGA cuts.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s currently ranked No. 1,160 in the world rankings, which he topped for eight weeks back in 2011, a year after his 2010 PGA triumph<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And on LIV this season, Kaymer has played seven events with a low finish of T-25. Three times he\u2019s finished outside the top 50 or withdrawn \u2013 LIV fields boast 57 players.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been struggling since 2021,\u201d Kaymer said. \u201cAnd obviously, I had a couple surgeries then and other issues came with it the years after. And it was quite disappointing for me that playing out there on the LIV Golf league, I could never really perform, because I could never really practice, because I was always hurt. \u2026 So, I always came into tournaments never prepared. The other guys were ready to play. They were playing great. To be honest, it really pissed me off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seven players are tied for the lead at 3-under after the first round of the PGA Championship: Ryo Hisatsune, Stephan Jaeger, Martin Kaymer, Min Woo Lee, Aldrich Potgieter, Scottie Scheffler and Alex Smalley.<\/p>\n

Most players tied for the lead after any round at the PGA Championship\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) May 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Kaymer, who has battled left wrist and most recently left elbow issues, says he\u2019s been pain-free for the last four to five weeks, which has allowed him not only ample time to practice but also rediscover his passion for the game. He called Monday-Wednesday of this week some of the most fun he\u2019s had on the course.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying those tough golf courses and doing well executing the golf shots the right way, that is really fun,\u201d Kaymer said.<\/p>\n

Kaymer ignited Thursday\u2019s round by throwing a dart into the par-4 11th to set up his first birdie and then canning a 44-foot birdie bomb on the par-4 12th. He added a birdie at No. 2, then bogeyed No. 7 before nearly walking off with the solo lead. From 295 yards out and in the fairway at the par-5 ninth, Kaymer went driver off the deck and hit it to 15 feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said to my caddie, \u2018Do you think 3-wood can get to the front of the green?\u2019 And he said, \u2018There\u2019s no chance,\u2019\u201d Kaymer recalled. \u201cI practice a lot driver from the fairway. It was a lovely lie on the fairway. The grass grows with you, so you know you\u2019re not going to hit it fat. That\u2019s usually the mistake that you do. And again, I practice it a lot and there\u2019s no reason, if you can do it in practice, why shouldn\u2019t you be able to do it in the tournament. So, and it was a nice one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaymer missed the putt, but the tap-in birdie still earned him a share of the first-round lead.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s steak-worthy, if he wants another.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"2026<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The second round of the 108th PGA Championship begins May 15 at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, where 156 players are competing in the season\u2019s second major.<\/p>\n