KAYMER NOW WORLD NO 1 AS HE MEETS DONALD IN FINAL

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
By Gary Van Sickle, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated
MARANA, Arizona — Golf has a new No. 1 player. It's Martin Kaymer, the 26-year-old German from Dusseldorf, after he beat Bubba Watson in a tough match and advanced to Sunday's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship final against England's Luke Donald, pictured right by courtesy of Tom Ward Photography.
The win meant Kaymer will pick up enough points to slip past current No. 1 Lee Westwood, who was eliminated in the second round.
"It is a very proud moment for me, my family, all the people who helped me, and Germany, as well," he said. "To be the second one to do it is a nice feeling."
Bernhard Langer was the first German to reach No. 1.
Kaymer has reached the top with an impressive mix of power and precision. He's reasonably long off the tee, accurate with his irons and an outstanding putter. That combination was too much for Watson, who rallied from five down with eight holes to play to knock out J.B. Holmes in the Saturday morning quarter-finals.
Watson's semi-final match in the afternoon against Kaymer was all square with four holes to play. At the drivable par-4 15th hole, however, Watson sliced his shot left of the green into desert shrubbery and was forced to take a penalty drop. Kaymer got up-and-down from a bunker for birdie and a one-hole lead.
At the par-3 16th, a gust of wind caught Watson's tee shot and sent it long, just over the green. Watson failed to get up-and-down, and he went two down after Kaymer made par.
But Watson fought back with a clutch 6ft birdie putt on No. 17 to keep the match alive. On 18, Watson's run ended when the hole was halved with pars. Kaymer advanced to the final match — and earned the No. 1 ranking.
One question nobody stops to ask is this: Why are world ranking points even awarded for the Match Play Championship?
Given match-play's odd nature — a player who wins this week only has to beat six opponents, versus 155 in a regular stroke-play event. It doesn't seem right to award points at this event.
When Kaymer won last year's US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, for instance, he beat one of the strongest fields of the year. He outscored them all, except for Watson, whom Kaymer defeated in a play-off.
To reach the final this week at Dove Mountain, Kaymer defeated (in order) Seung-yul Noh, Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Watson. Good golfers, all, but Mahan, at 18th, was the highest-ranked player among his victims.
So let's get this straight — Kaymer moves up to No. 1 this week even though he didn't beat anyone ranked among the top 15 in the world? He didn't even beat the man on top, Westwood. He didn't beat No. 3 Graeme McDowell or Phil Mickelson or Tiger Woods. All of the top players were here, yes, but Kaymer didn't have to face any of them.
And if he did beat them in an 18-hole match, how much would that mean? It's only 18 holes. The world rankings are based on 72-hole, stroke-play tournaments. Counting 18-hole match results, which players here admit is a little more than a coin toss, is the equivalent of declaring a winner after the first quarter of a American football game.
In my opinion, points should be awarded from this tournament, especially since the points have become so important for filling out the fields for big tournaments.
J B Holmes, for instance, needed to reach the semi-finals to get into the next World Golf Championship event at Doral.
It was pretty easy to make the case that Kaymer already was the No. 1 player in the world last year. He amassed more world ranking points in 2010 than anyone else. And the fact that he's arriving at No. 1, even if belatedly, means that the current system gets a lot of things right. That said, there is no perfect system for golf rankings. College football and basketball rankings are weekly polls taken after regularly scheduled games. Golfers like Woods sometimes go weeks without playing. Golf isn't like NASCAR, where all the top drivers run every event.
So there are going to be inconsistencies like Westwood being No. 1 last year, even though he didn't win a major championship while Kaymer and McDowell did. How important should winning be versus consistently high finishes? Should a player who dominates a tournament and wins by six or eight shots earn exactly the same number of points as a player who ekes out a win in a three-man play-off?
But, for now, forget about the rankings and enjoy what should be a fascinating final match, especially if the predicted nasty weather arrives.
We've got an all-European final on Sunday between a pair of Ryder Cup team-mates.
"He is one of the nicest guys out here and a very good match-play player," Kaymer said of Donald. "We're playing for a big trophy here."
No matter what happens, Kaymer will be No. 1 — even if Donald drums him 7 and 6.
Final Prediction:
So far, it's been Donald starring in "Unstoppable." He birdied 13 of the 27 holes he played Saturday. He birdied 27 of the 73 holes he played during the week, with only four bogeys. Donald knows the secret to match play is not to give away holes, which he excels at due to his fantastic short game.
Kaymer is a tough customer, but he looked a little fatigued by the end of his match against Watson. Donald played only 27 holes Saturday. Kaymer played all 36. My Pick? Luke Donald to win.
SATURDAY RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS
L Donald (Eng) bt R Moore (US) 5 and 4.
M Kuchar (US) bt Y E Yang (SKor) 2 and 1.
M Kaymer (Ger) bt M A Jimenez (Spa) 1 hole.
B Watson (US) bt J B Holmes (US) at 19th.
SEMI-FINALS
Donald bt Kuchar 6 and 5.
Kaymer bt Watson 1 hole.