A day after winning $1.8 million at The Players, Martin Kaymer slums it on the airport floor

A big reason why the strongest field of the season shows up for The Players Chamapionship is all that cash up for grabs. It’s the richest purse in golf, and has been for some time. This year’s pot was pushed to $10 million, which meant the winner would get $100k more than Tiger Woods earned for last year’s win.

So shortly after Martin Kaymer just won the biggest cash game in the sport, you’d expect him to have the private jet gassed up for Dallas, where he’s playing in this week’s Byron Nelson. Instead, thanks to Stephanie Wei, we found out Kaymer was slumming it just like the rest of us at the nearby Jacksonville airport. Wei captured Kaymer just hanging out on the airport floor, trying to get a charge like the rest of the great unwashed.

It’s an amazing shot. Almost all the top players, and Kaymer was one of best in the world before Sunday’s win, fly private from stop-to-stop and are quick to show it off on Instagram or Twitter. I won’t try to expound and make some stupid generalization that this means Kaymer has to be some humble and down-to-earth guy, although he has always seemed quite nice and reserved in past appearances. But catching him on the floor just trying to get a charge, a day after earning $1.8 million, makes this one of the best photos of the season.