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Martin Kaymer needs to produce a huge performance at this week’s Scottish Open if he is to avoid missing out on the Open Championship for the first time in over a decade.
Kaymer, 34, must finish inside the top ten and be one of the top three players not already qualified to earn his spot in next week’s final men’s major of the season at Royal Portrush.
The two-time major champion has been an ever-present in golf’s oldest professional tournament since making his debut at Royal Birkdale in 2008.
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Indeed, since playing in his first major at the Masters the same year, the German has missed only one major – the 2017 US PGA Championship – when injury forced him to sit it out.
A combination of injuries and a loss of form have seen Kaymer use up all of his major championship exemptions. His last worldwide win, at the 2014 US Open, guaranteed him entry to all four of the game’s marquee events for the next five years – but that expired after last month’s US Open.
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He came close to sealing his place at Royal Portrush at the Irish Open at the weekend, only for England’s Paul Waring to pounce late on at Lahinch to grab the last of the three places available.
Kaymer, who started the year ranked 172nd in the world but has since climbed to 90th, joins an all-star cast in East Lothian this week, which also includes Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas.
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