Starting the final round five shots behind Fredrik Jacobson, with a host of stars around him, Kaymer ran off four straight birdies to start the back nine at Sheshan International. The German finally caught Jacobson with a birdie on the 13th, and then poured it on with key birdies on the final two holes.
Kaymer delivered the lowest closing round by a WGC winner since the series began in 1999, topping the 64 by Hunter Mahan last year at the Bridgestone Invitational.
The former PGA champion hasn’t found golf to be this easy since he shot a 59 his first year as a pro on a mini-tour in Germany, when he was 14 under over his last 16 holes.
“I just played really good golf, and I’m glad that it came together,” Kaymer said. “The last few weeks, I played good golf, but it has not happened yet. And this week, it was nice that it happened here, the World Golf Championship event.”
Kaymer is the 10th player to win a WGC and a major championship.
Adam Scott, hounded by questions over caddie Steve Williams’ racial slur against former boss Tiger Woods, got within two shots of the lead early in the round until making two soft bogeys and never recovering. He closed with a 73 and was eight shots behind.
Jacobson led by as many as three shots until a long three-putt bogey on the par-5 eighth. As Kaymer made his charge, the Swede came to life with birdies on the 12th and 14th to stay tied. Jacobson’s hopes ended, however, when he pulled his tee shot into the rough left of the par-3 17th and failed to get par. He shot 71 and finished three shots behind.
Graeme McDowell closed with two birdies for a 67 to finish alone in third, quite a turnaround from last week in the Andalucia Masters when he failed to break 80 over the last two rounds at Valderrama.
Rory McIlroy made a short birdie on the par-5 18th that gave him a 69 and was significant for one other reason. With a three-way tie for fourth, he moved past Lee Westwood to the No. 2 ranking. Westwood, playing in the same group, shot 40 on the front nine and closed with a 74 to tie for 13th.
It was the second win of the year for Kaymer, who moves to No. 4.
He won his first tournament of the year at Abu Dhabi and became the top-ranked player at the end of February, holding the spot for eight weeks. Kaymer said he struggled with the attention of being No. 1, and the face of golf in Germany, and now was looking ahead.
“It was an OK year,” Kaymer said. “But now it’s a good year.”
Local hero Lu rules Taiwan Masters
In Taipei,local hero Lu Wei-chih has won the Mercuries Taiwan Masters golf tournament Sunday despite shooting a 2-over final round of 74.
Playing on his home course at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club, Lu reclaimed the title he won in 2005 with a comfortable three-stroke victory.
He bogeyed the last two holes Sunday but the 66s he shot in the first two rounds — and his third-round even par of 72 — cushioned his poor finish.
Finishing behind Lu’s 278 were Thaworn Wiritchart of Thailand at 281, Japan’s Daisuke Kataoka at 283 and Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines at 284.
Ueda snatches Mizuno Classic in playoff
In Shima, Japan, Japan’s Momoko Ueda birdied the third hole in a tense play-off against China’s Feng Shanshan to win the LPGA Tour Mizuno Classic in her home country on Sunday and regain the title she claimed in 2007.
Starting the day with a three-stroke lead, home hope Ueda sank four birdies against one bogey for a 69 and a three-round total of 16-under-par 200 at the Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club in Shima.
Feng’s stunning bogey-free 65 was studded with seven birdies, catching up with Ueda with a birdie on the 17th hole, before going into the nail-biting playoff.
The unheralded Chinese might have snatched victory at the last with a 15-foot putt on the 18th hole in regulation, but she couldn’t convert the birdie.
“I thought I would never win again. It was really tough in the four years since I moved to the US tour. I’m very happy to win again,” said a tearful Ueda, who shifted to the LPGA after her victory in Shima four years ago.
“I think I was able to control my nerve very well this week. Previously, I rushed too much trying to score a birdie, but this week I created a birdie chance even after making a mistake,” said Ueda.
Choi Na-Yeon of South Korea finished third on 201, followed by Catriona Matthew of Scotland, who shared fourth place with Taiwan’s Teresa Lu on 203.
Defending champion Shin Jiyai of South Korea was in a ninth place tie on 206, while 2006 champion Karrie Webb of Australia was 13th on 207.
