Past champion Martin Kaymer came for more than steak dinner, shares PGA lead

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – As the 2010 PGA Championship winner, Martin Kaymer attended the Champions Dinner on Tuesday night where Scottie Scheffler served chicken parm, steak and three flavors of gelato. Kaymer, 41, was seated next to a PGA of America official, who asked the two-time major winner, European Ryder Cup hero and LIV golfer, if he still plays.

Kaymer was caught off guard by the question and responded, “Yeah, that's why I'm here. I'm not flying from Europe to here to have a New York strip with you guys, you know, of course I'm playing.”

In recounting the story, he concluded: “That really motivated me.”

Did it ever. The German shot 3-under 67 at Aronimink Golf Club on Thursday to grab a share of the first-round lead with six other golfers, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

Martin Kaymer of Germany acknowledges the crowd on the fourth green during the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 14, 2026.

Kaymer, who started on the back nine, birdied two of his first three holes and made two birdies on the second nine along with a lone bogey at No. 7. He capped the day with driver off the deck from 295 yards to 15 feet.

“It was a lovely lie on the fairway. The grass grows with you, so you know you're not going to hit it fat. That's usually the mistake that you do,” he said. “I practice it a lot and there's no reason, if you can do it in practice, why shouldn't you be able to do it in the tournament.”

Kaymer has struggled during his LIV career and this season ranks 52nd for the season — there are only 57 players — and hasn’t finished better than T-25. He said he’s dealt with a series of injuries but is finally feeling fit again.

“I could never really perform, because I could never really practice, because I was always hurt,” he explained. “To be honest, it really pissed me off.”

Kaymer isn’t the only German in the field who jumped out to a good start. Stephan Jaeger went out early and shot 67, too. When told that it has been 25 years since two Germans were in the top 5 after the first round of a major, Kaymer guessed correctly that it was Bernhard Langer and Alex Cejka.