Kaymer hopes to begin renewed climb to No. 1 ranking at French Open

Martin Kaymer thinks he would cope better with the demands of being world No. 1 if he can get back there.

The 26-year-old German knocked Lee Westwood off the top spot in February and stayed there for eight weeks, but now finds himself back down to fourth.

"I definitely had a little bit less time to practice and a little less time for family and friends because I had to do a lot of media," said Kaymer, who is now in Paris for the Alstom French Open at Le Golf National, the course chosen to host the 2018 Ryder Cup.

"I had a lot of different requests that I was not used to having, but my management and my family and me are trying to organise everything as well as possible,” he added. "It was fine. It was just a matter of getting used to it and if it were to happen again I would know what to expect and it would definitely be easier for me."

To many people's surprise, he tried to make swing changes for the Masters in April, but missed the cut there for the fourth season in a row. He did then reach the semi-finals of the Volvo World Match Play in Spain before losing to Luke Donald -- as he had in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona four months ago.

But his best finish since was 18th in Munich last weekend, and that allowed new U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy to join Donald and Westwood ahead of him in the rankings.

England's top two return to action at next week's Barclays Scottish Open, while McIlroy is waiting for the British Open at Sandwich in two weeks.

Kaymer can claim third spot back with a top-8 finish in France, and will be expected to do far better than that on a course where he won two years ago and against a field that contains only one more of the game's top 20 -- American Bubba Watson.

This is the big-hitting left-hander's first appearance in a regular European Tour event and comes in a season when he has already won twice at home and moved up from 32nd to 12th on the rankings.

McIlroy was on the original entry list, but pulled out after his first major victory -- just as Graeme McDowell did last year. Their fellow Northern Irishman Darren Clarke is back in action, though, after missing last week's event in order to join the 22-year-old's celebrations.

"I really wanted to be there,” Clarke said. “I've known Rory since he was very, very young."

Clarke is exempt for the upcoming British Open, but Colin Montgomerie is among those who aren’t and they now need a top-5 finish either this Sunday or in the Scottish Open next week to qualify. Montgomerie will hope to draw on the memory of three years ago, when he was runner-up to Spain's Pablo Larrazabal.