SHEBOYGAN: Germany`s Martin Kaymer took the slow steady route to his first major championship title.

Tied with American Bubba Watson going into the final playoff hole at 92nd PGA Championship on Sunday, Kaymer decided to play it safe out of the rough and just punch his ball back onto the fairway to get a better angle for his approach to the green.

The 25-year-old German knew he could afford the luxury because he had just watched his playing partner Watson put his approach at 18 into the water.

"When he hit the water hazard I thought the best he can make is five," Kaymer said. "So I laid up to give myself a better chance at par and give myself a chance to win the PGA Championship."

It paid off as Kaymer went on to become the first German to win a PGA Championship and the second behind Bernhard Langer to win a grand slam.

"It was a very exciting week," Kaymer said. "I hope it is one of many majors I win in my career, it`s spectacular.

"I was just trying to avoid big numbers or stupid mistakes. I always wanted to give myself a chance for birdie and the worst I do is a par. That was my goal."

It is a game plan that has worked before for the Dusseldorf-born Kaymer who turned pro in 2005.

Kaymer has five wins on the European Tour including two at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championships in 2010 and 2008.

His career was interrupted for several months in 2009 when he broke four bones in his foot while go-karting but injuries outside of the sport are not going to stop him from having fun.

"I am pretty normal guy. If you know Germans, most people in the world think we are boring people. I am not boring. But I am not like a crazy, crazy guy. How you see me on the golf course is how you see me when I have my time off."

Kaymer may have looked calm and collected down the stretch Sunday but he says he was churning inside.

"I was not so calm in the last round. The last four or five holes I was quite nervous to be honest," he said.

"I was calmer in the playoff. It sounds strange but the pressure is kind of gone. Because the worst you can do is finish second. Of course you want to win the tournament but it kind of relaxed me and I knew what I had to do.

"I just had to beat one guy and that`s it. I was very calm until the putt on 18."

Kaymer said his win should go a longs ways to helping golf grow in Germany.

"I am trying to make golf more popular in Germany. Bernhard Langer inspired me when I was a kid and I hope I can inspire teenagers as well."

BDST: 1357HRS, August 16, 2010