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PGA GRAND SLAM OF GOLF

October 15, 2014

Martin Kaymer

HAMILTON, BERMUDA

JULIUS MASON: Martin Kaymer, ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the 32nd PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

MARTIN KAYMER: Thank you.

JULIUS MASON: So this wasn't as easy as we thought it might be today? But congratulations on a victory.

MARTIN KAYMER: Well, it was very difficult to play. Especially after the 7th hole. The 7th, 7 and 8 is okay, but then the last 10 holes are very difficult. You could see we made a lot more bogeys, everyone pretty much on the back nine. A lot of two-shot swings as well.

JULIUS MASON: Questions, folks.

Q. At the 18th in the playoff hole, was there anything tricky or difficult about your birdie putt and were you surprised that Bubba missed his?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yes, of course I was surprised that he missed it. I had a similar putt earlier on the regular round, just half an hour or 20 minutes before we were standing there in the playoff. But his was a little bit longer and I knew that it's not an easy putt. But, under those circumstance, you don't want to take any chances, mentally, to think that he might miss it. So my putt, it was quite an advantage that I had the similar putt earlier, just a little bit longer, but pretty much the same line and I knew it didn't break as much as I thought. So that helped me a lot. It was a good stroke and so it went in. But I was surprised about him, obviously, you don't want to win a golf tournament that way. Of course I would take it, but you don't really want the other guy missing a short putt.

Q. I noticed that the television had the audio going when you were lining up your shot in regulation on 18. I think you said to someone, is it the German flag at the top? Am I hearing that right?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, you know, sometimes I need an aiming point and there was a German flag that was right in line where I wanted to go. So that's why I said the German flag. It could have been the Northern Irish flag as well, but it was a German flag there, so it was all right for me.

Q. So if it's a good omen or not, we don't know. But how did it line up for you the second time what were you looking at the second time?
MARTIN KAYMER: First, I was on the fairway, that always helps. This week I was very good with just really nipping the ball from the fairway without hitting a lot of divots. So I'm sure that would help me, my short game as well, because on that Bermuda grass, you can't really go with deep divots, because then can you even have fliers from fairways. So on 18, I hit a really nice clean shot, had a good yardage as well, and left myself a fairly easy putt uphill right to the left.

Q. Help me with the distances on both birdie attempts on 18.
MARTIN KAYMER: The distances?

Q. Regulation and playoff.
MARTIN KAYMER: Oh, the playoff, I just heard it was 10 feet. I was not sure how much it exactly is. The regular hole was probably at least double. Probably 22 feet or so.

Q. As the final winner of the Grand Slam in Bermuda, what is something you take away from this island?
MARTIN KAYMER: A lot of very warm people. When you could hear the Premier talking yesterday, he didn't really have papers at the gala dinner, he didn't have a paper where he just read what he thought about before, he just spoke from his heart and very authentic. The people here, they're very, very real and very warm. It's not only a beautiful island, but you can see that the people here, they are a lot more laid back than we are in Europe or in America. We are always ready to go, go, go. Here I think they enjoy life a little bit more than we do. So, it's a very nice example and good role models.

Q. You're making a habit of beating Bubba this year in the end.
MARTIN KAYMER: Sorry?

Q. You obviously beat Bubba at the Ryder Cup with a chip in and now here.
MARTIN KAYMER: Yes.

Q. I thought I heard Bubba say something about I'm going to stop being mean to you.
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, the ninth hole he said, every time I play with you, you play good, so I have to stop being nice to you. I have to stop being nice to you. I have to be mean. Obviously, he was joking, but -- and then I made a couple bogeys, he made a couple bogeys, and then it felt like nobody really wanted to win around the turn. So, yeah, it was an up-and-down round, but I like playing with Bubba. Obviously not only because I've been always successful playing against him, it's just, he's fun company. And when he said last night, he really enjoys and appreciates that he's out here and that he has the possibility to play golf.

Q. How important was it for you, the way things played out at 16, before you had hit your third shot, you knew Bubba was not going to make at least a par. He was going to make at least a par?
MARTIN KAYMER: 17 you mean?

Q. 17. I'm sorry. So that if you get up-and-down, that you've picked up two strokes.
MARTIN KAYMER: When I was standing on the 17th tee box, before Bubba hit, I knew I don't have anything to lose anymore. I was two shots behind, I can be very aggressive with everything now. Because Jim and Rory, they were too far away it catch me for the second place. So then Bubba hit it in the water and then I hit a very nice tee shot. Then, still, I still thought that he will make five somehow. It's not like that you can know for sure that he will make six from short of the green. I just stayed aggressive, I wanted to make three, to pick up at least two shots, maybe even three shots. So, I hit a very, very nice, it was probably one of the best shots today, the 3-wood on 17. But I was faced by a very tricky putt then, the first one. So then, obviously, he missed his par putt and made bogey. That was a big putt for me. It's always nice when you have those, I love those situations, when you know you have to make it. So, it was very enjoyable the last three holes we played today. 14, 15, 16, those were not so enjoyable for me.

Q. I wanted to know whether you were going to ask your dad to carry that trophy around for awhile?
MARTIN KAYMER: My dad? I mean, it's heavy again, but the PGA, the PGA is huge. That is that was really a pain to carry it pretty much for a year and a half or two years from A to B. So, I'm sure not all the tournaments want to have that trophy, we'll keep it in my living room.

Q. I was so impressed by some of your answers last night about what it meant to people in Germany when they see a champion and they bump into you now and they say Michael Schumacher won, Boris Becker won, I guess you can go back to them and say, yes, this week I did okay.
MARTIN KAYMER: I did more than okay. (Laughter.) I think I did good this week. But it's true. Hopefully, if a few papers, a few magazines will write about it. We are trying to get the Ryder Cup in 2022 in Germany, so that's a lot of things that are happening in Germany, a lot of big projects. We have the Solheim Cup next year. So, golf is definitely growing, but we need to, everybody has to work more together in Germany, not distracting each other. So all the magazines, the TV companies and the TV channels, it would be nice if they can work together and try to help me out here as well to push golf a little bit more in my country.

JULIUS MASON: Ryder Cup in Germany. Good food.

MARTIN KAYMER: Yes.
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