Martin Kaymer has shared what score he believes will be good enough for a top five finish at the US Open this week, as the tournament returns to Pinehurst No. 2.
Martin Kaymer returns to very happy surroundings in the coming days, with Pinehurst No. 2 the site of his last victory on any tour, with the German blowing the field away at the 2014 US Open.
The US Open has only been held at the North Carolina course on three occasions previously, and only four players have ever finished the tournament there under par.
Remarkably, three of those players got to one under, while Kaymer managed to reach nine under to win by eight shots for his second major title.
Martin Kaymer predicts what score will be good enough for top five spot at US Open
Unfortunately for the 39-year-old, it has now been a decade since his last win, but he will be hoping that returning to Pinehurst will inspire something in his game.
He was asked by Golf Channel what he thinks the winning score will be, and while he refused to pick out a number, he did share what he believes to be a score which will put a player near the very top of the leaderboard.
“Pinehurst is a very difficult golf course, I have a lot of respect for the course, you need to play well. So I’m not going to give you a number, I think everybody is trying their very best,” he said.
“I think with par you’re not going to finish outside the top five.
“I would be very surprised if anybody shoots two scores below three or four under in a row.”
Pinehurst No. 2 a test unlike almost any other
It is going to be such an interesting challenge considering how easy many of the world’s best make a lot of the courses they play on.
Xander Schauffele broke the major championship record for his score to par when he won the PGA Championship last month, and he needed to hole a putt on the last to avoid a play-off with Bryson DeChambeau.
The Memorial provided a taste of what could happen when the birdies are hard to come by, but Pinehurst has the potential to be on another level.
Kaymer certainly does not see many breaking par this week.
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