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ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPJanuary 15, 2015Martin KaymerABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Q. You always do well here, why is that? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, there's a lot of factors. You always come fresh to Abu Dhabi after a long break. I usually practice really well before. But I think the key the last few years was my putting. I putted really well and today, the same. I made ten birdies, and there were I think three putts in those ten birdies that were over 15 feet, 18 feet, and that's very rare. But I putted very well and that was probably the key the last few years and today, too. Q. I reckon it was a shot harder this afternoon. MARTIN KAYMER: The last four or five holes, they were a little more difficult. There was a little more wind. But what I said, if you make putts and hit fairways, especially on that rough, you've got to hit fairways. And if you putt well, it's tough to shoot a bad score. So fortunately it worked out for me. Q. Almost like you played 17 holes. MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I don't know, it's one of those weeks, I either play really, really well, or I miss the cut. I finish very rarely in the Top‑50 and Top‑20, so one of each, and hopefully I can continue that streak. I don't mind missing the cut if I win the next year. So far, it's worked out very well for me. Q. What do you make of the changes? MARTIN KAYMER: In the last few years, actually, a few new tee boxes. I think a few holes, they used to be a little bit better. The greens, I think they created more pin positions, which is nice. And you need to; you need to continue developing the golf course. You need to continue making it better and a little bit harder for us. I think they gave themselves more opportunities around the greens, so in general, the changes they have done are not bad.  For me it's tough to say I would like to see them; if you have been so successful on the golf course. It worked out well today, so see how it is out there the next few days. Q. McIlroy was saying that in the press conference the other day, he writes his goals for the year down on a boarding pass, and he did say it was 1A, as well. No. 1, are you in 1C, and do you write them down on a boarding pass? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, he deserves 1A. He's No. 1 in the world. I should be 12 or 13A. I don't have those goals. I have them in my mind, especially this year is a big season when it comes down to the Majors. St. Andrews is my favourite golf course in the world. Whistling Straits, I've been successful there with the first major I won. So I have goals, but every player has their goals. You just don't talk about it because you don't want to put yourself under pressure because it will be in the media and then self‑consciously, you think about it more and more. Q. Stunning start. What's your take? MARTIN KAYMER: I putted well. I made ten birdies, I'm not sure if I have ever done it on a golf course to hit ten birdies. I hit a lot of fairways, my irons were quite sharp and I putted well. It's very difficult to shoot a bad score when you play like this. Now the goal is not to compare myself tomorrow to the round, what happened today. Tomorrow will be a new start but it's a brilliant start to a great tournament. Q. Sounds like there's opportunity after chance out there. There was so many things that you could have got. MARTIN KAYMER: Well, the first 13, 14 holes, if you hit the fairway, you have short clubs in your hands, and if you putt well, you stand over the iron shot a little more confident because you know, once you get within ten, 15 feet, you have a good chance to make birdie. The last four or five holes, they were a little more difficult, but once you hit fairways, you have chances. Q. Any element of surprise, given it is the first competitive round of 2015? MARTIN KAYMER:  Yeah, the putting. I didn't make a putt for three weeks, nothing. And then you wait, the first five, six holes, does it really feel well or is it still a little rusty. But I made right away a few good putts, a good putt on the first, started out the season with a birdie, which is a little bonus. Subconsciously, you feel like, well, that's a great start. The putting was surprising for me. Q. This really is a golf course that you love, isn't it. MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I've been very successful on the golf course, and it's nice when you come back to a golf course where you've been successful, where you feel like you make a lot of putts. And then when you make a lot of putts, you stand a little bit more comfortable over the ball on the fairway because you feel like, if I can get it within those 15, 18 feet, you have a chance to make birdie. So that's a great start to a tournament. Q. You must be thrilled to have started that way. Have you in a sense surprised yourself, given that this is the first day? MARTIN KAYMER: I was a little bit surprised about my putting. I haven't made a putt for three weeks and then I came to Dubai last week, practiced there, but didn't putt a lot, just a little bit. And today, my stroke was really good. I read the greens well. Ball‑striking was good. I know that golf course so well, and I feel comfortable on those tee boxes. But still, you have to putt it off and you have to hit those shots; but the biggest surprise was definitely the putts within 15 feet. Q. Is this a great advert for learning to ski? Does it do amazing things for your putting? MARTIN KAYMER: I'm not sure if it helps my putting or whether it helps your mind get away from golf, because it's so challenging and you need to focus a lot on skiing. Otherwise I wouldn't be here probably; I might be somewhere in the hospital in Italy. So that was important, because it's always about golf, and life is not all about golf. There should be about other things in life, as well, and for me it was nice to find a hobby that is challenging for me, is a good workout, and gets me away from the main job and the main sport that I usually do. Q. You did it heading into a year that must be on paper at this stage, anyway, potentially a very special one given the major venues? MARTIN KAYMER: Yes, all those four courses, I know three of them very well. One I will be the defending champion on, so it's a big year. I was not really scared to get hurt. As long as you have respect for it and don't push it too much. Of course, it can always something happen. But I don't want to stay at home and just sleep and watch movies and get fat around Christmastime. I wanted to do something. I wanted to challenge myself and that's why skiing was quite nice. Q. And just on that point about the Majors this year and going into the year as a defending champion for the U.S. Open, but the Open at St. Andrews, you've won there, not an Open, but the Dunhill, and you've won at Whistling Straits the PGA the last time it was there. MARTIN KAYMER: It's a big year, what you said, on paper, it's a big year. The main goal is to lower your expectations. Lower that you don't get over‑motivated. That's very important; that you approach it like any other major with a little bit of a bonus of the positive thoughts from the past. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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