Kaymer Wins Rookie of the Year

After a terrific inaugural season that featured five tournament finishes in the top ten, Martin Kaymer was named the 2007 European Tour Rookie of the Year. He becomes the first German to win the award since its inception in 1960.

?To be the first winner from my country is a special honour,? Kaymer said, ? When I look at the list of previous winners ? people like Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie ? that makes it even more spectacular.?

An astute student of the game, Kaymer knows that there are many more years of excellence on the course to be had to match the careers of his fellow Rookie of the Year winners, but his 2007 debut was a brilliant start to his professional career.

It took only nine professional tournaments for Kaymer to produce his first top ten finish, shooting the final round?s low score of 67 at Estoril Open de Portugal to finish at 3-under par for the tournament and take home third place prize money.

His tournament scores fluctuated up and down the tables over the next seven weeks before a seventh place, 4-under par finish at Open de France netted Kaymer a then career high 110,000 euros in prize money. Arguably Kaymer?s best golf of the year was played at the Scandinavian Open, where he led the field for three rounds before rookie nerves saw him finish short of the title by two strokes to eventual champion Mikko Ilonen.

Finishing the 2007 season with back-to-back top ten finishes at the Portugal and Volvo Masters? was enough to have the European Tour?s voting committee cement Kaymer?s place in the history books. His promising debut season on tour has many in the golf world anticipating that a first tour victory entry in the media guide for Kaymer isn?t far away from occurring either.