Martin Kaymer's game could become even better in 2011

Martin Kaymer may want to send Padriag Harrington a thank you note if he goes on to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

While the rest of the golfing world was talking about Harrington's DQ on Friday, world number three Martin Kaymer was flying under the radar, laying siege to an Abu Dhabi

course that's become his personal playground in recent years.

His bogey-free 7-under 65 on Friday moved him to 12-under on the week, three-shots clear of Charl Schwartzel. The round had a quiet brilliance to it that's become Kaymer's MO in recent years.

While players like Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood continue to make headlines on and off the course, Kaymer continues to fly under the deck and let his game do the talking. If you need a prime example, look no further than last year's PGA Championship, a tournament that was known more for Dustin Johnson's blunder than Kaymer's victory.

It's a role he seems to embrace. But that could all change if he wins this week. Assuming he captures his third title in Abu Dhabi, Kaymer would bypass Tiger Woods as the second ranked player in the world. It's an accomplishment that doesn't seem to impress Kaymer all that much.

"Every tournament I play this year, at least in the beginning, it will be like this," Kaymer told the Telegraph after Friday's round. "If you finish here or there you get to No. 2. And of course if you get to No. 2 you want to get No. 1. But it is not my main goal this year."

Kaymer's main goal this season appears to be implementing a new-look swing that has him swinging on a flatter plane in an effort to promote draw spin on the ball.

Even though the swing is close, Kaymer still said it was a work in progress. If this is what it looks like in the early stages, it's scary to imagine how good Kaymer could be when he trusts the swing completely.

Eva Green Lauren Conrad Arielle Kebbel Jessica Paré Leelee Sobieski