As the dust settled on Moritz Lampert’s third European Challenge Tour victory of the season at the Azerbaijan Golf Challenge Open, compatriot Martin Kaymer was quick to congratulate the 22 year old German at the end of his final round at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
He might have been several time zones away, but Kaymer was fully aware of the new Challenge Tour number one’s achievement, tweeting his congratulations to Lampert in the early hours of Sunday morning from Akron, Ohio.
The US Open Champion believes that a second stint at the top level of European golf will be vital in the development of the young German, who also won earlier in the season at the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Mazda and the Fred Olsen Challenge de España.
Lampert earned a maiden campaign on The European Tour back in 2013 thanks to a share of fourth place at the Qualifying School Final Stage, but he struggled to make the transition and eventually finished 184th on The Race to Dubai.
Kaymer knows all too well though what success on the Challenge Tour can spur a player on to, after he won two times in eight starts in 2006, and he believes Lampert should now be ready to mix it with the big boys once again.
“It’s great, he’ll be the fourth German now on The European Tour,” said the two-time Major Champion. “I’m not sure if that has ever happened before, that we’ve had four of us out here.
“I know that Moritz was on Tour before and he struggled a little bit, but he has played very well this year – he won once on the Pro Golf Tour as well – and now three on the Challenge Tour. I don’t think any German has done that before.
“He will feel a little more comfortable now on The European Tour, as I know when we talked the first year it was a little too much for him. It was too different, but I think through the confidence he has gained from those three wins, and the experience, means hopefully he can play more consistently and make his card fairly quickly. He can play the rest of this year now too, which will help.
“He is one of those players that just needs experience. He can putt, he can chip, his long irons are fine and his driving is good, so he just needs that experience.
“The Challenge Tour is a good start, but it is tough to compare with The European Tour. It is a great way to get used to travelling and staying in hotels, but you’re still having to rent cars every week, and stuff like that, which makes it difficult.
“The golf courses on The European Tour will be tougher too, but I hope he can make it out there and we can play a few practice rounds together next year.”
Kaymer has achieved so much in his career with wins at the 2010 US PGA Championship and this season’s US Open, as well as having been ranked as the best golfer in the World.
They would certainly be good footsteps for Lampert to follow in, especially considering the fact he has already had more success on the Challenge Tour than his illustrious countryman.
He will hope that proves a good omen for the rest of his career, and was something that Kaymer conceded to with a smile, when he said: “If we’re talking Challenge Tour, then yes, he is better than me!”
