Kaymer voted Golfer of the Month

Germany's Martin Kaymer has been named European Tour Golfer of the Month for January.

Winner of the 2007 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award, the 23 year old took his maiden European Tour title at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and second place behind Tiger Woods in the Dubai Desert Classic.

A graduate of the European Challenge Tour in 2006, Kaymer led from start to finish at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to win by four shots from Ryder Cup players Henrik Stenson of Sweden and England’s Lee Westwood.

Despite missing the cut in the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, the Dusseldorf native bounced back the following week in Dubai to earn second spot behind the World Number One with a closing 66.

Having started the calendar year in 77th place in the Official World Ranking, Kaymer now stands just one spot outside a place in the top 20 for the first time. He is currently third on The European Tour Order of Merit with €414,729 (£307,306).

Kaymer emerged from a strong list of candidates to be named the January winner, including Australian Adam Scott, who won in Qatar with a blistering final round of 61 at Doha Golf Club.

He said: “It is a great honour to receive this award, especially considering that so many players did so well in January. Henrik Stenson has played great and so did Adam Scott, Ernie Els and Lee Westwood.”

“This award, coming at the beginning of only my second season on Tour, proves that I am heading in the right direction. I worked really hard over the winter and I am delighted that it is paying off.

“Having practiced in the desert in the USA, I was very comfortable coming to Abu Dhabi. I was truly impressed by the event and the country and it felt very fitting that Abu Dhabi would be the place for my first win on The European Tour.”

Also considered by the judging panel were Stenson, who finished runner-up in both Abu Dhabi and Qatar and tied for sixth in Dubai; Richard Sterne of South Africa, who won the Joburg Open in his native country, and Swede Daniel Chopra, winner of the Mercedes-Benz Championship on the US PGA Tour.

Kaymer is the first monthly winner of The 2008 European Tour Golfer of the Month Awards. The European Tour Golfer of the Year will be selected by a panel from the Association of Golf Writers, Radio and Television at the end of the year.