Sunday, February 27, 2011

Kaymer looking at No. 1 ranking, and a hot Donald | Golf

Stoic as ever, Martin Kaymer rolled in an 8-foot par putt on the 18th hole Saturday and treated it like another day at the office, removing his cap to shake hands with his latest victim.
Kaymer is not ready to celebrate becoming the new No. 1 player in golf.
Right now, he just wants to be No. 1 at the Match Play Championship.
The 26-year-old German outlasted Bubba Watson, 1 up, to end a long day and reach the title match, assuring that he will be No. 1 in the next world ranking.
But the celebration will have to wait. Next up for Kaymer is Luke Donald, who set an Accenture Match Play Championship record by needing only 73 holes in five matches to reach the final. Donald's victim in the quarterfinals was Puyallup's Ryan Moore, who fell 5 and 4 Saturday morning. He then topped Matt Kuchar, 6 and 5, in the semifinals.
"When I hear those things, that I'm No. 1 in the world on Monday ... I'm in the middle of a tournament," Kaymer said. "It would be fantastic tomorrow if I could win. Then it really feels like I deserve to be No. 1. I'm not saying that I don't deserve it, but it would make me feel better if I would win instead of finishing second tomorrow."
Kaymer has won seven times in the past two years, including his first major at the PGA Championship, when he holed a clutch putt on the final hole and beat Watson in a three-hole playoff at Whistling Straits.
More hard work awaits.
No one has been more dominant at Dove Mountain than Donald, who has yet to trail in any of his five matches. Donald only had to play 27 holes in his quarterfinal win over Moore and his demolition of Kuchar. Watson, who came into Saturday having played only 43 holes in three matches, faced 37 holes in a long and wild day. Watson was 5 down with eight to play against J.B. Holmes when he staged an amazing comeback. Holmes hit into the desert at the wrong time and lost in 19 holes.
OTHER TOURNAMENTS
• Johnson Wagner shot a 6-under 65 and a 13-under 200 total for a one-stroke lead over Chris Stroud (70) after the third round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Andres Gonzales of Olympia had a 67 for an 8-under 205 and is tied for 19th. Gig Harbor's Kyle Stanley (69) is at 7-under 206 and is tied for 31st, and Kirk Triplett (67), a Pullman High graduate, is at 4-under 209 and tied for 49th.
• Japan's Chie Arimura shot a 1-under 71 for an 11-under 205 total and a one-stroke lead over Australia's Karrie Webb (70) after the third round of the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore. Jimin Kang, a graduate of King's High School in Shoreline, had a third-round 72 for a 6-over 222. Wendy Ward, who lives near Edwall, outside Spokane, had a 77 for a 7-over 223.

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