Dustin Johnson
Personal information
Full name	Dustin Hunter Johnson
Born	(1984-06-22) June 22, 1984 (age 28) Columbia, South Carolina
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Jupiter, Florida
Partner	Amanda Caulder
Career
College	Coastal Carolina University
Turned professional	2007
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	7
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	5
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament	T30: 2009
U.S. Open	T8: 2010
The Open Championship	T2: 2011
PGA Championship	T5: 2010

Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. He is one of the longest drivers on the PGA Tour having been third in the driving distance stats for three consecutive years between 2009-2011.^[1]

Early career[link]

Johnson was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He played collegiate golf at Coastal Carolina University. As an amateur, he won the Monroe Invitational and the Northeast Amateur in 2007 and played on the winning 2007 Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams.

Professional career[link]

Johnson turned professional in 2007 and earned his 2008 PGA Tour card by finishing in a tie for 14th place in the 2007 qualifying school.

Johnson won his first PGA Tour event, the Turning Stone Resort Championship in October 2008. Four months later, he won his second event at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The tournament was shortened to 54 holes when the final round was cancelled due to strong winds and heavy rain, leaving Johnson the winner by four strokes over Mike Weir and five strokes over second round leader Retief Goosen, who shot a third round 2 over par 74. Johnson finished the 2009 season ranked 15th on the PGA Tour money list.

In February 2010, Johnson birdied the final hole to defeat former world number one David Duval and two-time PGA Tour winner J. B. Holmes to successfully defend his AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am title.^[2]

Johnson continued his Pebble Beach success by shooting 71-70-66 to take a three shot lead over Graeme McDowell at the 2010 U.S. Open, but scored a disappointing 82 in the final round and finished T8 (McDowell won the tournament).^[3]

In the final round of the 2010 PGA Championship, Johnson held a one-shot lead entering the final hole. He appeared to have bogeyed the hole, which would have tied him for first and entered him into a three-hole playoff with Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer. However, he received a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a bunker, thereby dropping him to a tie for fifth place.^[4][5] Kaymer eventually won the playoff.

Johnson did break his streak of bad luck by capturing the third FedEx Cup playoff event, the BMW Championship at Cog Hill in September. It was Johnson's fourth career PGA Tour victory, and his first in any FedEx Cup playoff event. He finished the 2010 season ranked 4th on the PGA Tour money list.

Johnson took part in the Long Drive Contest for charity at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions alongside Bubba Watson and Robert Garrigus.

In March 2011, Johnson entered the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship with a two stroke lead over the rest of the field. However he could only manage a final round one-under-par 71 to finish as runner-up behind Nick Watney.

In July 2011, Johnson earned his best finish in a major championship at the 2011 Open Championship. He finished in a tie for second place, alongside fellow American Phil Mickelson. The pair were beaten to the title by Darren Clarke who finished three strokes ahead of them. His first three rounds of 70-68-68 left him one stroke behind Clarke and for most of Sunday's round Johnson managed to keep up with him, at one stage being just one back of Clarke. However Johnson's final round charge was derailed at the par five 14th, when he hit his second shot out of bounds, eventually leading to a double bogey. This took him out of contention for his maiden major championship as he slipped from one stroke back to four strokes behind Clarke with only four holes to play. One highlight of Johnson's week at Royal St George's came in the first round when he recorded a hole in one on the par three 16th hole. This result marked the third time that Johnson had been part of the final group on Sunday at a major championship and also occurring in three out of the four majors, the 2010 U.S. Open, the 2010 PGA Championship and the 2011 Open Championship. As a result of this second place finish, Johnson moved to his highest spot in the world rankings at the time, seventh, and became the third ranked American behind Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson.

Johnson won his fifth PGA Tour title at The Barclays in 2011. He beat Matt Kuchar by two strokes. This was his second 54 hole tournament victory of his career after the 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The tournament was shortened due to the threat of Hurricane Irene. Johnson shot rounds of 66-63-65 to win at -19. This was Johnson's first victory of 2011 and it moved him from 19th to 1st in the FedEx Cup standings.^[6] It was also the second FedEx Cup playoff event win of his career after he won the BMW Championship in 2010. The win also took him to a career high of 4th in the world rankings, the second highest American, (behind Steve Stricker). Although he started the playoffs well and held the number one position for the first week, he was unable to continue his form at the three remaining playoff events and did not record a single top 20 in any of them. Johnson eventually finished the season 4th in the final FedEx Cup standings.^[7]

Amateur wins (2)[link]

• 2007 Monroe Invitational, Northeast Amateur

Professional wins (7)[link]

PGA Tour wins (5)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Oct 5, 2008	Turning Stone Resort Championship	-9 (72-68-70-69=279)	1 stroke	Robert Allenby
2	Feb 15, 2009	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am*	-15 (65-69-67=201)	4 strokes	Mike Weir
3	Feb 14, 2010	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am	-16 (64-68-64-74=270)	1 stroke	David Duval, J. B. Holmes
4	Sep 12, 2010	BMW Championship	-9 (68-70-68-69=275)	1 stroke	Paul Casey
5	Aug 27, 2011	The Barclays*	-19 (66-63-65=194)	2 strokes	Matt Kuchar

* Note: The 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the 2011 Barclays were shortened to 54 holes due to poor weather conditions.

Other wins (2)[link]

• 2010 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Bubba Watson and Boo Weekley), The Shark Shootout (with Ian Poulter)

Results in major championships[link]

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary[link]

• Tournaments played: 13
• Wins: 0
• 2nd: 1
• 3rd: 0
• Top 10s: 4
• Top 25s: 6
• Missed cuts: 2
• Most consecutive cuts made: 8

Results in World Golf Championships[link]

• DNP = Did not play
• QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
• "T" = tied
• Yellow background for top-10.

U.S. national team appearances[link]

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 2007 (winners)
• Palmer Cup: 2007 (winners)

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 2010
• Presidents Cup: 2011 (winners)

See also[link]

• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• 2007 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Dustin Johnson at the PGA Tour official site
• Dustin Johnson at the Official World Golf Ranking official site

v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 2010 Stewart Cink · Rickie Fowler · Jim Furyk · Dustin Johnson · Zach Johnson · Matt Kuchar · Hunter Mahan · Phil Mickelson · Jeff Overton · Steve Stricker · Bubba Watson · Tiger Woods Corey Pavin (non-playing captain) Lost: 13.5 – 14.5

v t e United States Presidents Cup team – 2011 Jim Furyk • Bill Haas • Dustin Johnson • Matt Kuchar • Hunter Mahan • Phil Mickelson • Webb Simpson • Steve Stricker • David Toms • Nick Watney • Bubba Watson • Tiger Woods Fred Couples (non-playing captain) Won: 19 – 15

John Mallinger
Personal information
Full name	John Charles Mallinger
Born	(1979-09-25) September 25, 1979 (age 32) Escondido, California
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Long Beach, California
Career
College	Long Beach State
Turned professional	2002
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	1
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament	DNP
U.S. Open	T22: 2010
The Open Championship	DNP
PGA Championship	T60: 2008, 2009

John Charles Mallinger (born September 25, 1979) is an American professional golfer.

Mallinger was born in Escondido, California and is the youngest of four children. He graduated from Escondido High School and earned his Bachelor's Degree in Marketing from California State University, Long Beach. He resides in Long Beach, California and plays out of Virginia Country Club, along with pros John Merrick and Peter Tomasulo.

Mallinger is currently a member of the PGA Tour. He was a medalist at the 2005 Canadian Tour Qualifying School, but he earned the nickname “Monday Mally” by getting though several fall Monday Qualifying events and playing in enough Nationwide Tour events in 2005 to earn playing privileges for 2006 on the Nationwide Tour. He breezed through all stages of the Qualifying School that year to earn his 2007 PGA Tour Card. He earned over $1,600,000 on the PGA Tour in 2007, finishing runner-up to Brandt Snedeker for Rookie of the Year honors. He finished 91st on the 2008 money list, once again cracking the million dollar mark to retain his Tour card for 2009. Mallinger had another successful year in 2009, finishing in a tie for 3rd in the "Fifth Major" at The Players Championship and 2nd at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee where he lost a sudden death playoff to Bo Van Pelt. He finished in the top 50 of the money list for the first time.^[1]

Before playing on the PGA Tour, Mallinger won two events on the NGA Hooters Tour.

In 2011, Mallinger played in only 15 PGA Tour events due to his conditional status. He did not make the FedEx Cup and played on the Nationwide Tour during his time off the PGA Tour. He regained his PGA Tour card with a 14th place finish on the Nationwide Tour money list, despite playing in only nine events, but earning six consecutive top-10 finishes.

Mallinger finished in a tie for 2nd place in his second start of the 2012 PGA Tour season at the Humana Challenge, two strokes behind Mark Wilson. This was the second time that Mallinger had been a runner up on the PGA Tour and remains his best finish to date.

Professional wins[link]

• 2010 Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational

Results in major championships[link]

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

See also[link]

• 2006 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• 2011 Nationwide Tour graduates

References[link]

External links[link]

• John Mallinger at the PGA Tour official site
• John Mallinger at the Official World Golf Ranking official site

Matt Cain
Cain before his Major League debut with the Giants in August 2005
San Francisco Giants – No. 18
Starting pitcher
Born: (1984-10-01) October 1, 1984 (age 27) Dothan, Alabama
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 29, 2005 for the San Francisco Giants
Career statistics (through May 27, 2012)
Win–loss record	74–75
Earned run average	3.33
Strikeouts	1,151
Teams
San Francisco Giants (2005–present)
Career highlights and awards
Willie Mac Award Winner (2009) 2× All-Star (2009, 2011) World Series champion (2010)

Matthew Thomas Cain (born October 1, 1984) is an American professional baseball player. A starting pitcher, Cain plays for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He is 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighs 235 pounds (107 kg).

Early career[link]

Cain graduated from Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee, where he earned the nickname "Big Sugar" and was selected by the Giants in the first round (25th overall) in the 2002 MLB Draft.^[1]

Prior to the 2005 season, Cain was named the #13 prospect in baseball by Baseball America.^[2]

Pitching style[link]

Cain features a mix of mostly four pitches: a four-seam fastball (89-92 mph), a slider (85-88), a curveball (78-81), and a changeup (85-88). Very infrequently, he also throws a two-seam fastball at 90-92 mph. Cain leads with his four-seamer, throwing it just over half the time in 2011. His changeup is his secondary pitch to left-handed hitters, while he throws sliders as a secondary pitch to right-handed hitters. Cain throws curveballs in roughly equal proportions to righties and lefties.^[3]

Major League career[link]

2005[link]

Cain made his major league debut on August 29, 2005, at the age of 20 against the Colorado Rockies, losing the game despite giving up only three hits and two runs in five innings. Following his debut, Cain joined the team's regular five-man starting rotation, finding immediate success. He earned his first major league win on September 4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and notched his first complete game, a two-hitter, against the Chicago Cubs on September 9. Cain finished his first season with seven starts over 46 ¹⁄₃ innings in which he posted a 2–1 record, 30 strikeouts, a 2.33 ERA, a 0.928 WHIP, and a minuscule .151 opponent batting average.^[4][5]

When he was called up, Cain was the second youngest pitcher in the major leagues, behind Félix Hernández of the Seattle Mariners.

2006[link]

Cain's 2005 performance was impressive enough that manager Felipe Alou named him to the team's 2006 starting rotation before spring training began. Cain began the season as the team's fourth starter.

In 2006, Cain struggled with consistency, but showed signs of dominance in several starts, flirting with a no-hitter on more than one occasion. On April 24, 2006, Cain pitched six innings without allowing a base runner against the New York Mets, one of the league's most prolific offenses. On May 21, Cain pitched his first complete game shutout, a one-hitter against the Oakland Athletics. On June 19, Cain pitched 7 ²⁄₃ innings of no-hit ball against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim before finally surrendering a single to Chone Figgins in the eighth inning.

Late in the season Cain increased his chances for Rookie of the Year consideration with a run of remarkable pitching. From August 12 to September 14 Cain recorded a 5–0 record with an almost unheard-of ERA of 0.21. During this streak, he allowed just one earned run in 42 innings—and did not allow an earned run in 30 ²⁄₃ innings. He led all National League rookie pitchers with 13 wins and 179 strikeouts in 2006. His 2006 record was 13–12, with a 4.15 ERA. Cain finished in a fifth-place tie in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

2007[link]

In 2007, Cain changed his uniform number from 43 to 18, following the departure of Moisés Alou, who wore 18 in 2006.

He started the 2007 season with a 1.55 ERA with 11 hits in 29 innings pitched. This run was capped on April 22, in which he pitched a complete game allowing only one run (in the ninth) and just three hits. It was the third complete game of his young career. Cain's record through August 3 was 3–12. He had limited opponents to a batting average of .238 against him during that stretch. The Giants scored two or fewer runs in 20 of Cain's first 30 starts.^[6] Additionally, the bullpen blew four leads behind him.^[7]

Cain went 4–1 over his next five starts.^[8] This stretch was bolstered in part by a power surge at the plate by Cain himself. He hit his first and second career home runs in these starts, off Tim Redding of the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano.^[9]

Cain finished the season with the 10th-lowest ERA in the National League at 3.65. The Giants went 9–23 in his starts; the bullpen lost leads in five of his starts and the team scored 2 runs or fewer in 21 of his starts.^[10]

2008[link]

Cain went 8–14 with a 3.76 ERA, 186 strikeouts and 217.2 innings. Cain's season record was deceiving, as he again received low run support. As in 2007, Cain hit two home runs for the season, the third and fourth of his career.

2009[link]

Cain finished the 2009 season with a 14–8 record with a 2.89 ERA and 171 strikeouts. His ERA ranked seventh in the NL, and tenth in major league baseball. He finished the season with a career-high in wins (14), and winning percentage (.663).

On July 5, 2009, Cain was announced as an All Star for the first time in his young career. On Matt Cain's final start before the All Star Game, he was hit by a line drive right below his elbow and was forced to miss pitching for the All Star Team, although he did still attend and was announced as an All Star. Pirates pitcher Zach Duke replaced Cain on the NL All Star team.^[11]

On September 25 Matt Cain was awarded the Willie Mac Award, presented yearly to a Giants player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership consistently shown by Willie McCovey throughout his long career, which is voted upon by the players and coaching staff.^[12]

2010–11[link]

This section contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (February 2012)

Cain was part of a rotation that included 2008 and 2009 National League Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum, 2002 American League Cy Young award winner Barry Zito, along with Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner. In the month of May, Cain pitched into the sixth inning or later in all 6 of his starts while giving up 9 earned runs on 23 hits with 35 strikeouts and 18 walks in 44 ²⁄₃ innings pitched with an overall record of 3–3 with an 1.81 earned run average.

For the season Cain was 13–11 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 177 strikeouts, 61 walks, 223 innings pitched, and 4 complete games including 2 shutouts.

On October 28 Cain capped an impressive post-season performance as he pitched 7 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings in Game 2 of the World Series to become the fifth pitcher to pitch at least 20 innings in the postseason without allowing an earned run, earning the nickname Big Game Cain among Giants fans.^[13] His total post-season stats of a 2–0 record, with a 0.00 ERA through 21⅓ innings pitched helped the Giants win their first championship in San Francisco.^[14]

Matt Cain was an Allstar for the second time in his career in 2011 and continued his success thereafter. Cain had a 2.39 ERA in 12 starts after the All-Star break but earned just 3 wins in that stretch, due to a continued lack of run support on the part of the Giants offense.

On September 28, 2011, Cain hit his fifth career home run against the Colorado Rockies.

2012[link]

On April 2, 2012, Cain agreed to a five-year contract extension worth a guaranteed $112.5 million through 2017 with an option for 2018, surpassing Kevin Brown for the largest deal for a right-handed pitcher. Cain earns a $5 million signing bonus, and will earn $20 million each season from 2013–17. His option for 2018 will vest automatically if he is not on the disabled list to an elbow or shoulder injury in 2017 and is worth $21 million. Should he be on the DL for those reasons in 2017, the Giants can either pick up the $21 million option or pay a $7.5 million buyout. Cain was scheduled to become a free agent after the 2012 season.^[15] On April 13th, pitching the Giants' home opener, Cain threw a complete game shut out, walking none and allowing only one hit. It was the third one-hitter of Cain's career. He is currently 6-3.

Personal life[link]

Matt Cain is married (Chelsea) and has a daughter, Hartley Mae, born in December 2010.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Matt Cain

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Martin Kaymer
Personal information
Full name	Martin Kaymer
Born	(1984-12-28) 28 December 1984 (age 27) Düsseldorf, West Germany
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	74 kg (160 lb; 11.7 st)
Nationality	Germany
Residence	Mettmann, Germany Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.[1]
Career
Turned professional	2005
Current tour(s)	European Tour
Professional wins	18
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	10
Challenge Tour	2
Other	6
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	T44: 2012
U.S. Open	T8: 2010
The Open Championship	T7: 2010
PGA Championship	Won: 2010
Achievements and awards
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year	2007
European Tour Race to Dubai winner	2010
European Tour Golfer of the Year	2010

Martin Kaymer (born 28 December 1984) is a German professional golfer. He became the No. 1 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Rankings on 27 February 2011 after his runner-up finish in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, but lost the top spot to Lee Westwood eight weeks later.

Kaymer was born in Düsseldorf, Germany. He turned professional in 2005 and is a member of the European Tour. He has won ten tournaments on the tour including four in 2010 to win the Race to Dubai, formerly the Order of Merit, for the first time.^[2] Among those wins was the 2010 PGA Championship, a victory which made him only the second German to win a major championship, after Bernhard Langer. He also won the 2011 WGC-HSBC Champions, which made him only the tenth player to have won both a major championship and a World Golf Championship event.

Early professional career[link]

Kaymer picked up his first professional win at the age of 20 as an amateur at the Central German Classic in 2005 on the third-tier EPD Tour. He shot a −19 (67–64–66=197) to win the tournament by a margin of five strokes.^[3]

Kaymer played full-time on the EPD Tour in 2006 from February to August. He played in 14 tournaments and picked up five victories. He finished in the top 10 in all but one of the tournaments.^[4] Kaymer won the Order of Merit on the EPD Tour in 2006 by earning €26,664.

Kaymer shot a round of 59 (−13) in the second round of the Habsberg Classic. This was his scorecard:^[5]

Due to his success on the EPD Tour, Kaymer received an invite to compete in his first event on the Challenge Tour, the Vodafone Challenge in his native Germany which he won. ^[6] He played in eight events from August to October winning again a month later at the Open des Volcans in France.^[7] Kaymer ended up finishing 4th on the Order of Merit list despite playing in only eight events. In all he earned €93,321.^[8] He finished in the top 5 in six tournaments, and his worst finish was a 13th place finish. Due to Kaymer's success on the Challenge Tour, he earned a European Tour card for 2007.

Professional career[link]

2007: European Tour debut & Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year[link]

Kaymer made his debut on the European Tour in 2007 at the UBS Hong Kong Open, but he failed to make the cut. He missed the cut in his first five events of the season. In March, Kaymer made his first cut of the season at the Singapore Masters; he finished in a tie for 20th place. In his first seven events of the season, he only made one cut. All of those events were played outside of Europe.

Kaymer found immediate success once he started playing in Europe again. He finished in a tie for 15th at the Madeira Island Open, which was the season's first Tour event played in Europe. The following week, he finished in a tie for 3rd at the Portuguese Open. He made seven consecutive cuts from 23 March to 1 June. During that streak, his worst finish was a tie for 35th and he recorded five top 25 finishes.

From 7 June to 9 September, Kaymer played in nine tournaments but only made two cuts. In the two tournaments where he made the cut, he did very well. Kaymer finished in a tie for 7th at the Open de France. Seven weeks later, he finished in a tie for 2nd at the Scandinavian Masters.

Kaymer played in six of the last eight events of the season. He made the cut in all six of those events. On 18 October 2007 at the Portugal Masters, Kaymer shot a first round of 61 (−11). This round tied the lowest round of the 2007 European Tour season. It was also the new course record at the Oceânico Victoria Clube de Golfe. He went on to finish in a tie for 7th. Two weeks later at the year-ending Volvo Masters, he finished in 6th place. The Volvo Masters had one of the strongest fields on tour in 2007. He earned €140,000 for his 6th place finish, which was Kaymer's largest payout from a tournament to that time.^[9] He earned €754,691 on the season. Kaymer finished the season as the highest-ranked rookie on the Order of Merit, in 41st position, and won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award. He is the first German to win the award. Kaymer recorded five top 10s on the season. These performances took him into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time. In November 2007 he moved into the top 75, overtaking Bernhard Langer to become the highest-ranked German golfer.^[10]

On 2 November, Kaymer signed with Sportyard, a sports management company based in Sweden.^[11]

Kaymer represented Germany at the 2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup with four-time European Tour winner Alex Čejka.^[12] They finished in a tie for 6th place.

2008–2009: Continued success[link]

Martin Kaymer at the 2008 KLM Open

Kaymer started 2008 by winning his maiden European Tour event with a wire-to-wire victory at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. This achievement lifted him to 34th in the world rankings, making him the only player in the top 50 under the age of 25.^[13] It also secured his entry into the WGC Match Play Championship and The Masters. Two weeks after winning the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, he finished second in the Dubai Desert Classic. He finished the tournament with birdie-birdie-eagle but world number one Tiger Woods topped him by one stroke. Kaymer moved up to a high of 21st in the world rankings due to his runner-up finish. Kaymer picked up his second victory of the year at the BMW International Open, becoming the first German to win the event in its 20-year history.^[14] He held a six stroke lead going into the final round but then shot a 75 (+3) which resulted in Kaymer going to a playoff with Anders Hansen. Kaymer birdied the first playoff hole to win the tournament. Kaymer almost picked up his third win of the year at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, but he fell to Robert Karlsson in a three-man playoff that also included Ross Fisher. Kaymer recorded another runner-up finish at the Volvo Masters, finishing two strokes behind winner Søren Kjeldsen. Kaymer earned €1,794,500 in 2008 and finished in 8th on the Order of Merit. Kaymer narrowly missed selection for the 2008 Ryder Cup, but European captain Nick Faldo invited Kaymer to assist the European side in a non-playing capacity which Kaymer accepted. Kaymer represented his country at the 2008 Omega Mission Hills World Cup with Alex Čejka. The pair finished in fifth.

In 2009, Kaymer almost defended his title at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship but finished in a tie for second, one stroke behind winner Paul Casey. He continued his success in the Middle East by finishing in a tie for fourth at the Dubai Desert Classic. Kaymer won his third European Tour event in July, the Open de France ALSTOM. He defeated Lee Westwood on the first hole of a playoff when Westwood hit his approach shot into the water.^[15] The win moved Kaymer into the top 100 of the European Tour Career Earnings list.

He also won the following week at the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond Golf Club in Glasgow, for his fourth career win. He came from a shot behind on the final day with a round of 2-under 69 to win by two strokes.^[16] The win elevated him to 11th in the Official World Golf Rankings.^[17] The week after that, Kaymer finished T-34 at the 2009 Open Championship, which was his best finish in a major to that time. He bettered this when he moved through the final round field to finish in a tie for 6th at the 2009 PGA Championship.

Kaymer suffered an injury in a go-kart accident and missed September and October. He returned to the final stages of the Race to Dubai on the European Tour, and finished the season ranked third.

2010: PGA Championship win[link]

In January 2010, Kaymer won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship by one shot over Ian Poulter.^[18]

After missing the cut at the Masters, Kaymer performed very well in the 2010 majors. He finished in a tie for eighth at the U.S. Open and then tied for seventh at The Open Championship, after starting the final round in third place.

On 15 August 2010, Kaymer won the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits for his first major championship.^[19] Finishing regulation play in a two-way tie at 11 under par, he defeated Bubba Watson in a three-hole playoff.^[20]

Kaymer was a member of the winning European Ryder Cup team. He won both four-balls (partnered with Westwood and Poulter), halved his foursome and lost his singles match. A week later he won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews with Danny Willett coming in three strokes behind. He was the first player since Tiger Woods in 2006 to win three successive tournaments in a year and the first European to achieve this since Nick Faldo in 1989.^[21] The win took him to a career high of third in the Official World Golf Rankings.^[22]