Golf:Less than three months after becoming world number one Martin Kaymer has broken up with his Scottish caddie Craig Connelly.
Connelly flew with the German from Florida to Spain on Sunday night, but it will be Kaymer’s brother Philip who will be carrying his bag in the Volvo World Match Play Championship which gets under way tomorrow.
“For me it was just time to change and move on,” said the 26-year-old. “We’ve talked about it a few times already, but on Sunday we had a little chat and just decided to go our separate ways.”
A full-time replacement could be in place for next week’s BMW PGA Championship - and after the year Kaymer has had there will be no shortage of people willing to step into Connelly’s shoes.
Kaymer lifted the first major title of his career at the US PGA Championship last August, won his next two tournaments as well - three if you include the Ryder Cup - and in November topped the European Tour standings.
In February he took over from Lee Westwood as world number one by reaching the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona, but he then missed the cut in the US Masters for the fourth successive year and has since slipped to third in the rankings behind Westwood and Luke Donald.
Kaymer added: “Obviously Craig and me, we had a fantastic year together - he’s a very good caddie. I just felt like I needed a change. It has nothing really to do with Craig - he’s a fantastic guy and he’s been a good caddie for me.
“I haven’t had any calls yet (from other caddies) - I think nobody knows. But obviously now some people will know.”
Since his amateur days Kaymer has been mentored by Fanny Sunesson, former caddie of Nick Faldo and now with struggling Swede Henrik Stenson. Almost certainly she will not be taking the job as his caddie, however.
“I think what we are doing is very good and I don’t think we will really change that.”
His brother, who is studying law in Cologne, worked as Kaymer’s caddie in his rookie season.
“I’ll just try to have some fun with him this week and we’ll see what happens at Wentworth if I find somebody. If not, I’m sure I will find somebody for the US Open.”
This week’s event offers a first prize of almost €800,000 that, second only to the British Open in Europe this year - and with five of the world’s top six in the 24-man field there are enough points on offer to take Kaymer or Donald to the number one spot.
The players are divided into eight groups of three, with the top two in each going through to the knock-out stages on Saturday and Sunday.
Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn was in attendance as first reserve, but his father died after a long illness in the early hours of Monday and he has returned home.
Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy are both in the field and it’s the latter’s first playing appearance in Europe since his closing 80 at Augusta last month - and McDowell’s first, of course, since he shot 79 when he led the Players Championship with a round to go in Florida last Sunday.
“I sent him a text saying ‘It happens to the best of us’,” said McIlroy with a smile. “It can happen to anyone. He’s a major champion, but it’s tough to finish off tournaments no matter who are you — Tiger made it look so easy for 15 years or whatever.”
All of Woods’ 14 major victories have come with him at least tied for the lead after 54 holes and he had a perfect record until YE Yang beat him at the 2009 US PGA.
Yang and fellow Korean Noh Seung-yul are in the same group as Kaymer, but the best first-day clash on paper is that between US Open champion McDowell and British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.
Eight of the 24, including holder Ross Fisher and Scotland’s 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie, have to wait until Friday to enter the fray as the eight bottom seeds.
Lawrie qualified through his win - his first on the European Tour for nine years - at the Andalucian Open in March.
Meanwhile the sponsors of the match introduced in 2000 to mark the contribution Seve Ballesteros made to European golf have suggested a name change following the Spanish star’s death earlier this month.
The suggestion to the European Tour is simply to change the title of September’s event between Continental Europe and a Britain and Ireland side from the “Vivendi Trophy with Seve Ballesteros” to the “Vivendi Seve Trophy”.
It was purely as the Seve Trophy that the first five matches in the series were played and there are bound to be those who wish it to return to that.
A statement said: “Vivendi today announced that Jean Rene Fourtou, chairman of the Vivendi Supervisory Board, has suggested to the PGA European Tour that the
‘Vivendi Trophy with Seve Ballesteros’ be renamed to ‘The Vivendi Seve Trophy’, in memory of Severiano Ballesteros, who really knew, amongst other things, how to develop and support the spirit of match play and golf as an all-round game.
“During the day’s press conference Scott Kelly, Marketing Director of the PGA European Tour, emotionally welcomed the change on behalf of the PGA European Tour.”
