MEDINAH, Ill. — In 1991 at Kiawah Island with the Ryder Cup on the line, Bernhard Langer, the greatest German golfer ever and Martin Kaymer’s idol, missed a short putt against Hale Irwin that would have won his match and retained the Cup for the Europeans.
That moment has stuck with Langer as closely as all the remarkable things he has accomplished in his career — including major championships victories, Ryder Cup wins as a player and a captain.
Yesterday, in the late afternoon fall chill at Medinah Country Club, Kaymer, also German, stood over a 5-foot putt on the 18th green that would win his match against Steve Stricker and give the Europeans their decisive 14th point to retain the Ryder Cup.
And he made it.
“I did think about [Langer], especially when I walked around the hole and read the putt from the other side,’’ Kaymer said. “I thought, ‘OK, it’s not going to happen again.’ I didn’t really think about missing. There was only one choice you have; you have to make it.
“I was not that nervous. I knew exactly what I had to do. But if you ask me now how that putt went and how it rolled, I have no idea. I can’t remember. It is something that I will remember probably for the rest of my life and hopefully I can talk about when I have some grandchildren one day.’’
Kaymer said he was so disgusted with his attitude, he summoned Langer via text message for a chat on Friday.
“I felt like my attitude was not as inspired as I should be, so we talked a little and he helped me realize how important the Ryder Cup is,’’ Kaymer said.
When he rolled the decisive putt in, he had a better idea.
“Graeme [McDowell] had the same experience as me two years ago [in Wales], and I didn’t know how much pressure he must have felt until I got to 16 and José Maria [Olazábal] told me, ‘We need your point and I don’t really care how you do it; just deliver,’ ’’ Kaymer said. “Now, after that match against Steve, I know how important the Ryder Cup became and is for Olazábal, and Bernhard helped me so much just to sit down with me and talk about it.’’
For those who were predicting the player to deliver the winning point yesterday, admit it: Kaymer was probably the last of the 24 players who you thought would be the one.
His game has been in the abyss for the better part of the last year, and that left him as the weakest link on the European side — until yesterday afternoon.
He played in only one match before yesterday — a 3&2 four-ball loss with Justin Rose to Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar on Friday afternoon. Kaymer then sat in both sessions yesterday.
“If you want to sum up Martin Kaymer, form is temporary and class is permanent,’’ McDowell said. “You watch Martin Kaymer on these last greens today … guys that win major championships and get to be world’s No. 1 player, they’re not a flash in the pan.
“When it comes down to it, they have something, they have that X-factor and they can do something like Martin Kaymer’s just done. I’m just so happy for him. He’s a quality player. Yes, he has not been on form this year, but when the chips are down that’s when the top players know what to do.’’