For Kaymer, it is home away from home

Hunting grounds don't come much happier than the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship for Martin Kaymer, with the German winning a hat-trick of Falcon Trophies here in five appearances at the six-year-old event. If he wins the title this year, he will join an elite group of just five players who have won a European Tour event three times consecutively and a list of just five who have won the same European Tour event four times or more. Apart from his three triumphs here, he was runner-up in 2009, made his debut in 2007 and has played a total of 18 rounds, with a stroke average of 67.55. From those 18 rounds he is a total of 80 under par, with 16 of those rounds under par and 15 in the 60s, including his last 12 consecutive. Kaymer said of Abu Dhabi: "It's a combination of a lot of things. Obviously I like the golf course. That is the main thing why I play very well here. But also, if you have not played golf or a tournament for so long, you are motivated to play again, and you can't wait to play another round of golf, and that actually counts properly. "But it's the golf tournament, the whole organisation, the hotel where we are staying, when I come to the clubhouse, the people welcome me, saying welcome home. A lot of things, they make me feel very comfortable here." Speaking of his game, Kaymer added: "It's a little tough to say [what level I'm at] after having a break for so long. But I practised a lot in the winter-time. I feel recharged again, because last year was a very tiring season because of all that happened. "I feel good about it. I worked hard, and I look forward to those three events [the majors], and then leading up to the Masters. But so far I have no doubt why I shouldn't play good golf."