Martin Kaymer believes he doesn’t need to prove himself ahead of Europe’s forthcoming Ryder Cup selection.
Kaymer, a two-time Major winner, is the current world No. 103 and a long way from 2011 when he held the world No. 1 ranking.
The German has not won any event since his U.S. Open triumph back in 2014. However, two recent top-10 finishes have helped his case for European selection.
But, even with a T-2 finish at last week’s BMW International Open, Kaymer remains a long way adrift of automatic selection and will most likely be relying on a captain’s pick from Thomas Bjorn.
“I don’t think I need to prove myself that I’m good enough for the team,” Kaymer said. “I’ve done it in the past that I’m good enough but right now my results don’t really show what I’m capable of, and I have only two months’ time.
“So I will put everything into the next couple months that I have. I’m going to play a lot. I play all the Rolex Series Events just to gain points. I would hate to miss out. But in the end of the day, you need to be realistic.
“If 12 other guys are better than me, then they should go ahead and try to get the trophy back.”
The Ryder Cup this year is played at France’s Le Golf National, the same course being used for this week’s France Open, an event which Kaymer is also playing in.
“There’s a little bit of pressure on it because it’s a golf course that I really enjoy, especially playing in France,” Kaymer added.
“Every year, I really enjoying playing for the people there. It’s one of the best golf courses that we play.”
Kaymer made the winning putt at 2012’s Ryder Cup to secure a remarkable comeback victory for Europe, beating USA 14.5 to 13.5 points.
The 2018 event is scheduled for on September 28-30.