He’s not a machine, okay? Just Martin.

But you could have fooled a couple of guys in this week’s field. Ian Poulter tweeted, after he missed the cut, that he and Westwood were talking, saying “we are not sure what course [Kaymer] is playing but it’s not the same we played.”

Of Kaymer’s 24-under win, Retief Goosen said, “He’s killing us… I never saw anything above 20-under round here.”

Perhaps the Goose is letting slip that just a year ago, Kaymer went low again in Abu Dhabi, finishing at 21-under to defeat the aforementioned Poults.

With Martin Kaymer’s win at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, his third win there in the last four years, Kaymer jumped up in the world rankings to No. 2, supplanting Tiger Woods.

As I wrote on Saturday (!?!), Kaymer winning was pretty much a foregone conclusion. What, with a five-stroke lead and a major championship under his belt, there were very few who thought a Kaymer collapse was possible. The Germinator, as he is being called, is not know for that.

Sidenote: Is it just me, or does it seem like Americans dub German athletes as machine-like all the time, especially in golf. When talking about Bernhard Langer “machine-like” is the description that comes up more than any other. Same with Kaymer. I’m not totally sure I understand why. Perhaps some think their grasp on English, or lack thereof, makes them sound more machine-like. However, Kaymer is very well-spoken as is Langer. I’m rambling, just a thought.

The man set with the unattractive task of running down Kaymer on Sunday was Rory McIlroy. Rors fired a final-round 69 to hold his spot in second, but Kaymer’s par-birdie-birdie start put the kibosh on any thoughts the Ulsterman had of winning. Kaymer ended up shooting a 66.

McIlroy tweeted after the round, “2nd place finish. Not a bad way to start the season. Lots of positives from this week! Martin was on a different planet all week!”

McIlroy secured that second place finish by finishing two shots clear of fellow countryman Graeme McDowell, who shot a final-round 67, and Retief Goosen, who medaled on Sunday with a 64.

The debate has taken a turn over the past few days whether or not Martin Kaymer is the best in the world right now. There is no debate, however, as to who owns Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Kaymer played the last 60 holes without a bogey. As for me, I’m not sure Kaymer is the clear-cut favorite. Some point to his lack of top 10′s last year, despite winning five times since last January, including the PGA Championship. Kaymer did finish in the top 10 of the US Open and British Opens.

The safe play here is to say that Kaymer is the hottest player in the world, edging out Graeme McDowell, and to a lesser extent, Lee Westwood.

But I didn’t come here to lay up.

Martin Kaymer is the best player in the world right now. Period. He’s ranked No. 2 in the world, which speaks to his consistently good play over the past 104 weeks. The only man ranked ahead of him is Lee Westwood. Westwood’s biggest criticism is that he is always the bridesmade (groomsman?), never the bride (groom?). He’ll kill you with top 10′s and top 5′s, but rarely gets the job done. Kaymer is only .6 behind him in the rankings.

The same can’t be said for Kaymer. Sure, the argument that he backed into that PGA Championship will come up, but the fact of the matter is, he didn’t back into it. Geoff Ogilivy backed into a major. Martin Kaymer still had to beat Bubba Watson in the playoff and the Wanamaker Trophy is in his house. He’s won five times worldwide in the last year. He’s got a swing that doesn’t falter under pressure and a putter made of ice.

I challenge anyone to try to explain why someone else is better.

Kaymer will rise to No. 1 at some point this year and there’s no reason to believe he won’t be sticking around up there for the next decade.