Having coldy, calmly drained the seven-foot putt which clinched the European team's extraordinary comeback victory in the last Ryder Cup there was little doubt which stereotypical view of Germans Martin Kaymer is more comfortable as he reflects on that epic moment at Medinah.

The 29-year-old may be the only multiple major winner on the European side other than world No.1 Rory McIlroy, but it is indicative of the Ryder Cup's status that holing that putt, in between his USPGA triumph in 2010 and his US Open win this season, is what Kaymer is best known for.

His explanation of the certainty he says that he felt as he approached that moment is, then, he knows, capable of being misconstrued as conceited.

"Well, you know, it's tough to answer because it shouldn't sound too arrogant, but I never had a doubt in my mind that I would miss the putt," he said yesterday. "It's one of those things that you cannot miss. It's difficult to explain. Maybe some athletes or - yeah, some athletes, they would understand. I was trying to explain it to a good friend of mine and he had no idea what I was talking about, because it's one of those things that you don't have a choice of missing. It's not an option.

"So it doesn't even cross your mind that you might miss it. So for me, everything was so clear. I knew exactly what I needed to do, I knew exactly what the line was. The only thing that you need to do is do it. So for me it was very clear in my mind.

"So it never really crossed my mind that I might fail and that is what I said earlier. It's quite nice to get to know yourself in a way like this because I was not afraid of failure. I was not afraid of winning. I think a lot of guys - and you see it in different sports, as well - sometimes they are afraid of winning, because it's a different situation. It can be uncomfortable. So that was very - it was a nice situation for me."

Rather than arrogance, however, it speaks to a clarity of mind more in keeping with similarly cliched characterisations of Teutonic efficiency. Kaymer has had discussions with Germany's other greatest golfer and two-time major winner about keeping things as simple as possible too. "At the end of the day, 2012, I had a very nice conversation with Bernhard Langer and pretty much the moral of the whole talk was: 'it's just you, the golf ball and the golf course that you have to play. If the people wouldn't be there, that's it. It's pretty simple'.

"And then we talked about, imagine now if you can use the thousands of people for yourself in a positive way; that they carry you, so there's nothing negative about it. I didn't think that clear when I was there in 2010. Now it's a little bit different. You can use it to raise your game. It's a very, very different approach and there's so much more going on.

"I think it's very important that you get to know - that you find a way as quickly as possible to enjoy the Ryder Cup. Once you enjoy it, then you will play your game, I believe."

Inevitably, then, parallels will be drawn with the great sporting success Germany has already enjoyed this summer with the football World Cup. Indeed, when asked about the way Paul McGinley, Europe's captain, had deflected criticism of his decision to have as many as five vice captains by pointing towards the 33-strong backroom team used by Joachim Loew in Brazil, Kaymer welcomed the comparison.

"Well, it worked," he said with a broad smile. "It doesn't matter if he wants eight vice captains and we win. I wouldn't care. I think the goal is important. It doesn't matter how you reach it. And the Germans, you know, the way they played the World Cup, the way they were organised.

"Obviously it's quite nice to see that Paul uses the German, how do you say, the German way of succeeding in a sport event maybe. I mean, it worked for us in Brazil."