Kaymer Edges Watson in PGA Grand Slam of Golf


Germany's Martin Kaymer birdied the first sudden-death playoff hole to beat Bubba Watson and win the PGA Grand Slam of Golf on Wednesday. The 36-hole, two-day event that features the year's four major champions took place at Port Royal Golf Course in Bermuda.

Kaymer, the U.S. Open champion at Pinehurst, took the first-round lead thanks to a 6-under 65, two strokes ahead of Masters' champion Watson, four clear of PGA champion Rory McIlroy, and seven lower than Jim Furyk, who got a spot in the elite field as McIlroy also won the British Open.

The 29-year-old Kaymer closed with a 71, while Watson had a 69 to forge a tie at 6-under 136 on a blustery day. In a replay of the par-4 18th hole, both players hit good drives, with Kaymer's approach to seven feet and Watson's even closer.

Kaymer sank his birdie try, but Watson rolled his five-footer past the cup on the left, giving the title to Kaymer. "My putt, it was quite an advantage that I had the similar putt earlier, just a little bit longer, but pretty much the same line and I knew it didn't break as much as I thought," said Kaymer.

"So that helped me a lot. It was a good stroke and so it went in. But I was surprised about (Watson), obviously, you don't want to win a golf tournament that way. Of course I would take it, but you don't really want the other guy missing a short putt."

Watson could have won the event outright in regulation after carding birdies on Nos. 14-16. But the 35-year-old Floridian bogeyed the par-5 17th and settled for par on the last.

"Martin played great for two days," Watson conceded. "Somehow, I made that run of birdies on some tough holes in tough, windy conditions. So really, when you think about it, Martin played the best all week, putted well. Hit a lot of solid shots. He didn't really hit too many wayward shots and came away as the champion."

McIlroy closed with a 75 to take third at 144, while another stroke back was Furyk (73).

Adam Scott, the Grand Slam winner in 2013, received the original invite to fill in the fourth spot but declined due to a scheduling conflict.

For all the scores, visit http://www.pga.com/grandslam/scoring/leaderboard.