Kaymer ditches distractions, tied for lead at the Memorial

DUBLIN, Ohio – Martin Kaymer had already won a PGA Championship and been world No. 1.

He then won the PLAYERS Championship and, soon after, dominated the U.S. Open.

But that was almost five years ago. And since then, it hasn’t been as good.

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The problem? Distractions.

“I distract myself,” Kaymer said.

“I listen too much to other people. And also a bit of belief. Sometimes you would think I won so many big tournaments I should have so much belief in myself that I can win any week. But that's not the case because certain times you just feel like you're not on your "A" game.

“Sometimes it's still enough to win, but at the moment or the last two years, I was just not there. I just didn't believe that I could win the tournament that I'm playing.”

And so, of late, Kaymer has spent most of his energy getting rid of distractions. That includes social media.

It has helped him at Muirfield Village, where rounds of 67-68 has him at 9-under and tied for the 36-hole lead. The last time he held the 36-hole lead was the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, where he won by eight shots.

“Just getting away from so many things, social media, watching TV, reading stuff that is not important. What do you really gain from social media during tournament days? There's so much gossip, so much talk, so much distraction,” he explained.

“And I just got out of that. I just didn't want to read that because there's nothing really to gain from it. And that was a big one for me… It's just distraction, stimulation for your brain, just not thinking, not being there.

“So I tried to get away from that. And that automatically makes you more aware, makes me more conscious, and I think leads to more calmness, I guess. It helped me.”

The calmness has certainly transferred to his putting this week. Kaymer has needed just 25 and 26 putts, respectively, over two rounds. He ranks second in Strokes Gained: Putting.

It has him feeling old feels all over again.

“You're excited to be in position again. You worked quite hard over the last few years, and you want to feel that excitement of playing one of the last groups,” Kaymer adds.

“And who knows what happens by Sunday afternoon, if I'm still up there or not. But I'm very pleased right now that I put myself in that position, especially with that summer coming up, knowing and proving to myself that I have it in me right now; that I don't need to work on something special right now. I just need to play the game.”

Kaymer uses old visions of himself to also get in the mood. He wants to remember the winning feeling. It's a feeling where, if he gets it again, he will act differently.

“I just need to visualize the success more often that I had to really let it sink in. Because I'm not the guy who celebrates a lot, which I think is a little bit of a mistake,” he says.

“Because you don't know the value of the win, if you see everything the same. If you just move on and move on, you try to go from one tournament to another and you continue doing that, but you need to pull yourself out, maybe celebrate, however the celebration looks like.

“It doesn't need to be going to Vegas and get drunk, but you need to celebrate the win, the resolve, the effort. You need to give credit to yourself, and I never did. So whenever the next win will come, I know what to do different.”

Come Sunday, we might see what that celebration looks like.