2015: The Year of the Goat

The Chinese Calendar calls 2015 the Year of the Goat and it looks to be the same for the world of professional golf.

Martin Kaymer is the latest pro to wear the goat horns this week.

The two time major champion went into the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship with a six stroke lead. Kaymer has won there three previous times and over the past year has put on some great performances.

It got even better for the reigning U.S. Open Champion as he birdied three of his first four holes to stretch his lead to ten shots. And then Kaymer turned from world class golfer with a seemingly insurmountable lead into the goat.

A goat that played six over par for the last fourteen holes, sprayed and chunked his way in and couldn’t buy a birdie the rest of the day.

While Kaymer was stumbling to a 75, the worst round of the day, Frenchmen Gary Stal was crafting a bogey free 65 to sneak into the lead.

Stal started the day eight shots back but the 357th ranked player in the world played stellar golf in earning his first European Tour and certainly benefited from Kaymer’s meltdown.

Kaymer’s final round implosion continues a string of tournament losing final round performances in 2015.

We watched Jimmy Walker choke last week at the Tournament of Champions and 2011 Masters Champion Charl Schwartzel lost a four shot lead with four to play on the European Tour last week.

That’s hardly world class golf from world class golfers. But that as they say is why we play the game.

2015: the Year of the Goat. In more ways than one.