Kaymer keen on Gulf repeat

Win last year kick-started superb season for German

Last updated: 14th January 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Kaymer keen on Gulf repeat

Kaymer: two titles in 2008

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Germany's Martin Kaymer is relishing the prospect of defending his title at this week's Abu Dhabi Championship.

The 24-year-old claimed his maiden European Tour victory in the Gulf state a year ago, and then went on to enjoy a superb season, winning the BMW International and finishing eighth on the Order of Merit.

"That was my first win on the European Tour so that's always very special," said Kaymer.

"It was a big event and I won the first tournament of the year so that gave me a lot of motivation for the rest of the season.

"The win over here was very important to me, especially early in my career. It showed that I could win a tournament.

"It was very special when I came to the golf club yesterday. It was nice to walk down the 18th yesterday. It was a very special moment for me last year."

Englishman Paul Casey will also be among a strong field at the United Arab Emirates tournament and is feeling confident and refreshed after a month's break.

"I'm very much looking forward to 2009," said the 31-year-old.

"I feel like I have prepared well. I had some nice time off after the HSBC Champions, and then played Tiger's event (the Chevron World Challenge last month) and used that to review aspects I needed to knuckle down hard on and worked very hard for the last two weeks before coming here.

"I feel good about the game and I'm looking forward to having a good 2009."