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ALSTOM OPEN DE FRANCEJuly 2, 2014Martin KaymerPARIS, FRANCE PAUL SYMES: Many thanks for joining us. This is your eighth straight appearance here and you have a great record in the tournament, so must be one of your favorites of the year. MARTIN KAYMER: I guess it's definitely my favorite golf course that we play on The European Tour. It's very challenging. It's very exciting. There's always some drama involved the last three, four holes. I think it's a great preparation for the British Open. And obviously the success that I had four years ago, five years ago, 2009, when I won in the playoff against Westwood, I had a couple other Top‑10 finishes here before. I can drive; it's only five hours drive from Germany, from Düsseldorf. So for me it's a very, very convenient tournament. Especially after playing Germany, coming here, usually it's a lot more quiet and I can really relax and I can sleep well and I can reflect on the last two weeks, which is always difficult when you play in the U.S. Open and I play in Germany and I come here. I really enjoy that week. PAUL SYMES: Obviously slightly disappointing week last week. Was it due to the extra demands on your time? Did it affect your game. MARTIN KAYMER: No, I just didn't play at good. It's that simple. I didn't play as good as the other few weeks before. You know, to play in your home country is very, very difficult, and I think for a lot of French players this week, as well, there are so many expectations from all the people, and if you disappoint them, then it becomes even tougher to convince them to get the support. It's very tough to play in your own country. People think it's easier because your home crowd and all those things, but I think it's the toughest tournament you play all year. And then of course you have to do a few things on the side media‑wise and all those things that take a little bit away from your time on the golf course, but we all know that. It's just a matter of organising it and preparing as good as possible. PAUL SYMES:  And this week the draw has been kind to you, you have a morning tee time on Friday so you can watch the game on Friday night. MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, when I saw the tee times, 1.20 tomorrow and then early on Friday, I was very glad. I hope to think that they did it on purpose to watch the game. It will be a very tough game. Obviously we have played against France a lot of times, but in those extreme situations, it's always tough to say. We struggled a little bit against Nigeria the other day, but then patience paid off in the end. So it will be a good game. I will wear my shirt somewhere so hopefully I won't get attacked (laughter). Q. Germany is a relatively new golfing country. So do you think it takes time for the general public to understand the extra pressures? If you went to Scotland, they would understand, the game's been played there for centuries, but it might be difficult for them to understand what additional pressures is? MARTIN KAYMER: Very. I think it's difficult for them to understand what it is to win THE PLAYERS and the U.S. Open in one year. The knowledge of golf is just not as big as it is in the U.K., for example. Obviously I think about it, as well, how can we make it more accessible for the people in Germany, how can we make it easier for them to understand what it really means. It's a very tough job, and it won't happen next year or two years I think. I think the Olympic Games will play a big role. That might help. But I think we have to look further, like ten, 15 years down the road, and I think then we might have a chance to develop golf more in Germany; that their understanding is more there, what it really means to win certain tournaments, what it means to miss a cut here and there, to know and to understand the reasons. So that's why I know I was‑‑ it was a weird timing, as well, for me to win the U.S. Open at the World Cup. It was just the day before Germany played their first game, so it was not ideal, but what do you want to do. And it's tough to compete with the German National team, anyway, so it's not really competition; you can't. So I think that you have to accept it; that golf is never going to be as big as football, but I think ‑‑ and I don't know how it is in France but I think all the newspapers, all the TV companies, they have to work together in order to grow the game in their country, and a lot of those TV companies and magazines, they work against each other. They want to be the better one; they want to be the best one. That doesn't help us or that doesn't help the sport to grow in the country. So I think that is my hope and my wish; that the media works more together for the same goal; that we want to grow the game in the different countries. Q. How do you explain your good shape in the tournament? MARTIN KAYMER: You know, obviously I practiced a lot, but it doesn't always make you into a better player. The people who play golf know that range doesn't do it all for you. You need to be mentally ready for the challenge. You need to find a way to play brave golf and you need to be able to hit the golf shots that you practice. You need to be able to do that on the course when it matters. So let's say in 2012 and 2013, I was not convinced about‑‑ or I didn't have enough trust in my golf skills because I changed a few things and I didn't trust it 100 percent yet, and then a couple weeks before the Masters, my coach, he came to Phoenix. We practised, and then we had a very good session. He said, what is the problem, everything is there. And we had a long chat and we played some golf. And then it was just up to me to really do it on the golf course. If you screw up, it's okay. If you hit bad shots, it's fine. But if you never try, you never find out. So then pretty much during the Masters and Hilton Head and Charlotte and then THE PLAYERS, I just tried to hit the right shots, because I know I can hit all the shots. If it's left‑to‑right, right‑to‑left, high, low, whatever it is, you just have to do it. And that's the tough part. You can try to force yourself to do it, but it has to come naturally that you want to do it, and that's the tough part. When you hit some good shots that you are always surprised about it yourself, you know, when all of a sudden you pull them off and you say, that was nice; it's close to the pin and you have the claps from the people, but they don't know how much of a challenge it was for you. But that's not as important. The important thing is that you gain a lot from that, and playing‑wise, it was not the problem. Change from playing decent to playing good right now, was just the trust and playing brave and the belief in hitting the shots. Q. I'm not too sure if you're playing The Scottish Open, but how does this week help preparations for The Open, and what your expectations going to Hoylake? MARTIN KAYMER: Expectations, you know, is always a tough one. I try to keep the expectations as low as possible, just because I won THE PLAYERS and the U.S. Open doesn't mean that I'm going to contend on Sunday afternoon in Hoylake. It's a tough week, and I enjoy playing those tough tournaments. But playing The Scottish Open, I did it in the past; I don't have anything against the tournament, but I need to plan a little bit ahead, as well. Now me qualifying for all the FedExCup and The Race to Dubai, it's going to be a lot of golf. And playing the U.S. Open and playing last week and this week, it's a lot of golf. So I need to take a week off, because after the Open, there's only‑‑ I only have four or five days in between Firestone, then I play the PGA and there's only one week off and then you play four tournaments in the FedExCup and then you have The Ryder Cup. You can't play every week. I wish I could. Scottish Open, I've done well there in the past. It's I think one of the better tournaments we have on the Tour. But this week, the golf course, the way you can play it, usually it's very fast, very firm fairways, similar to the Open. But here it's a little bit more tricky because there's water involved and there's some run‑outs, so you really have to hit good golf shots. And I like golf course where is it's not a putting competition, and this week it's definitely not a putting competition. I haven't played the course yet but my caddie said it's not much different. So I just really enjoy playing that course and being here. PAUL SYMES: Thanks a lot, Martin, and have a great week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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