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MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 6, 2015Martin KaymerAUGUSTA, GEORGIA MODERATOR:  Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. My pleasure to welcome Martin Kaymer to the press building. This is Martin's eighth appearance in the Masters Tournament. Martin returned to Augusta after just a sensational 2014 season, which includes capturing his second major championship of his career. Congrats on that. He dominated the field at the 2014 U.S. Open, winning wire‑to‑wire. His score of 130 was the lowest 36‑hole total in U.S. Open history, what an achievement. He also secured a victory in the PLAYERS Championship, tying the course record with a first round 63. Martin, how have you been working to build off the successes of 2014 and prepare for this year's Masters? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, it's very difficult to follow a season‑‑ to follow up a season like that. I think you cannot really compare yourself or you shouldn't compare what really happened in 2014 and hope that the same thing might happen in 2015. Obviously, when the season is over, you try to reflect on a few things, what happened, how has things happened, why they happened, and then you already think about 2015, the next few big tournaments that come up. And obviously the Masters is a big one, the first big one or first really big one we play. Of course, at the end of the day, it comes down to the majors and how you perform in the majors. Yeah, I came here on Saturday already, Saturday afternoon. Played 18 holes yesterday, 18 in the morning. So I tried to get a lot of work done before Wednesday, and then Wednesday I'll just play the Par 3 and then try to rest and get ready for the week. Q. What's your self‑evaluation of why you haven't played better than you have here? What's the missing ingredient? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, the first couple years, the first three or four years where I missed the cut, I wasn't really able to play the golf course the way it was supposed to be played. And then I adjusted a few things, and then the last two years‑‑ yeah, the last two years, I was playing it really well, but I struggled a little on the greens. So if I can put those things together, the putting from the first three or four years and the playing from the last couple years, I'll be okay. Q. As a follow, what's been Bernhard's advice to you about playing this golf course, if any? MARTIN KAYMER: It would take a long time to discuss that (laughter). But it's more about angles, about positions. For example, today, we played the back nine together, and on 13, I struggled a little bit with that back left on the top part there, and I said to Bernhard, "What do you think is the best layup, on the right side or the left side?" He said, "None of those." I said, "Well, you have to lay up somewhere." He said I would like to hit it very close to the creek and just hit a bump, like a chip and run, to get it on top, unless the green is really firm and then you can hit a full lob‑wedge on to the top part. If you in between clubs and just let it jump up there, it usually sticks in the slope. So that was just‑‑ for example, the pin position that I always struggled with, because I didn't know how to get it close. Things like this just gave me a completely different option. I was just thinking about left or right, but maybe not close to the green. But just in general, playing with him, can be quite frustrating sometimes because you think you should be hitting the ball a lot longer; you should do certain things better because you are younger, but you are not (laughter). This is very, very impressive to see. Q. When your game came back together last year, was there one part of your game that lifted everything else up that came back first that you noticed? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I think in the end of the day, we can all hit the ball fairly straight. But I think you need to have good weeks on the green. At THE PLAYERS Championship, my short game was very good. Made a lot of up‑and‑downs, especially from bunkers, and I didn't miss many putts. The same at the U.S. Open. So I think at the end of the day, it comes down to this. I've always been a fairly good ball‑striker, quite a lot of fairways I hit with the drives. But the great tournaments that I had in the past, it always came down to the putting. And I spend a lot of time with the short game, a lot of time on the putting green the last few weeks. And of course, you practice not only for one tournament, not only for the Masters, not only for the U.S. Open; yes, they are all parts or part of a long journey that you go, but in the end of the day, what you saw last week and Houston, as well, it comes down to the putting, how many putts you make. If you can put yourself in a position to win first; that's a big, big part. Q. Do you think you can win this week, and was there a time that you would have come here before thinking you had no chance, and if there was, what was that like? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I never thought that I have no chance. Q. Small chance. MARTIN KAYMER: In the past, it was a very, very tiny chance (smiling). Because, you know, I played the golf course different. You know, I never hit an 8‑iron or 7‑iron into 10. I always hit a 4‑iron or 3‑iron because I couldn't get it down on the bottom. On 13, there was no chance for me to get the second shot on the green. So, I mean, on a golf course that's tough enough, how do you want to keep the ball on the green with a 3‑iron on 10? I didn't know. I didn't know if I‑‑ I need a lot of luck. So now, it's a lot different. I stand on the first tee, and on certain tee shots that I didn't really fancy in the past, now, yeah, they are not my favorites. It's a little bit against the natural, but I can make it work. At least I have an option. I know how to hit the shot. You just need to execute it. It gives you a relief that you actually can compete with the others now, and it's not as frustrating as it used to be for me. Q. So are you drawing the ball now to get it further down? MARTIN KAYMER: Sometimes on purpose (laughter). If I don't have to, then of course, you don't. If you take a natural player or a player who draws the ball naturally, obviously he takes his natural shot as much as possible, and that's what I'm trying to do, as well. But on certain holes, you don't have an option. And I hit the draw and it worked out very well the last couple years. And in any tournament, if I need to hit any shot, of course I can do it. You know, I won the tournaments for a reason, so you just need to believe in it and you have to do it. Of course, you don't hit every single shot the way you want it, but at least you know you can. And once in awhile, it happens. It's good. Q. You putted from some unusual spots at Pinehurst. Are you able to do that here or do you feel like you have to chip and pitch from there? MARTIN KAYMER: Why was it unusual? Q. Some people, like during the TV broadcast, they were saying most players would have chipped or pitched from where you were at Pinehurst and you were taking the putter. MARTIN KAYMER: Who says it is right or wrong? (Laughter). I know what you mean, but there's not only one way. It's maybe not the normal way, you pitch from there, you chip from there, whatever you do, it's not normal that you'd putt around the bunker, what I did at Pinehurst, but who cares. I don't care. I stayed in control. It was a very, very difficult pitch, and you have to play with the strength of your game, and I did that the whole week. I putted really well off the green. Here it's a little bit different. It's different grass again. You have to try‑‑ Bernhard, he did it today a lot with 4‑irons. He chipped with 4‑irons, with a rescue. It really depends on the situation. At Pinehurst, I thought I felt really comfortable within those eight or ten feet around the hole, and I thought if I hit a decent putt on the green, I was going to be in that circle. Fortunately I didn't miss many of those. Q. A lot of the focus is on Rory trying to complete the career Grand Slam. You're halfway there yourself. Wondering how much that features in your thinking, the possibility of winning here and winning The Open, as well? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, halfway sounds close, but it's still far away (laughter). Q. So you're a glass‑half‑full kind of guy? MARTIN KAYMER: It's a career goal, it's a long way, so Rory is a lot closer than me. I wish him the best. I hope I can do it. If he doesn't do it this week, I hope he's going to do it in his career. I think it will complete you more as a player, like for yourself. For myself, I just hope that I have the chance one day to win the British Open and to win the Masters. That is something, you know, you can't really predict the outcome but you can work for it to have a chance. And in order to be successful, you just need the chance and you need to be prepared. Those things, it would be nice if those two things can happen. I know that I'm going to be prepared, but the chance I need. Q. There's some photos running around the Internet of you sharing this unfiltered joy with the kids on site yesterday. Do you see yourself a little in the kids that played in the competition yesterday? Were you a daydreaming type kid? Were you a diligent worker, stay‑out‑of‑my‑way type kid? Were you a fun‑loving kid? MARTIN KAYMER: I don't understand that, daydream, and the other one was‑‑ Q. Diligent working, like stay out of my way. Did you see yourself in those kids yesterday that you were sharing all that joy with? MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, what I said‑‑ I had an interview yesterday on the range, and he asked why I came out so early and what I think about the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship. It's very difficult to explain, but I think we all, at least‑‑ I can only speak for myself, but I do still have so much passion for the sport and I enjoy it a lot to become better, to try my best and to change a few things in order to compete better in tournaments. And when you see other professionals on whatever level, some of them, I don't know, maybe they don't realize it, but they might have lost it a little bit or they don't see it as clear anymore. Then you see the kids, how they play, how excited they are, how nervous they are, which is nice to see. Because the little girl yesterday that I met on the plane the day before, you know, I just told her, there's a reason why you're here. You qualified, so you're good enough. So you have to enjoy the moment, enjoy being here with your father, enjoy the whole thing. That is what it's about. And she was so‑‑ she was so passionate about it. She wanted to get out there, wanted to hit the drive. It's nice to see that excitement. I think a lot of the professionals, including myself, sometimes when we play every week, we forget. So they don't forget because they haven't experienced it before. So they are so natural, and they have not experienced some of the chaos out here. So that's why for me it was really, really nice to see how much fun they had. Q. Almost half the field are international players here this week. You come from a country that did not have an extensive golf heritage. As a global player, how has the game changed with so many players coming from so many different places now? MARTIN KAYMER: You can see it every week that we play, especially the majors. It's very difficult and very difficult to predict who can win. Yes, you have a couple favorites here and there, but they are coming from every country, from every continent; if he's from Asia, from America, from Australia, from Europe, wherever they're from, it's very difficult these days. I think it's brilliant for the game of golf. If you see The European Tour, how much they expand their schedule in different countries and on different continents. So it will be really interesting to see what kind of impact or effect the Olympic Games are going to have on golf, the qualification system and all those things, for what country you will play and how many will play. That will be quite nice to see until 2020 how much it will change, so I think it will be quite interesting. Q. Are you close to perhaps putting the way you did in certain stretches last year? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, Augusta is always a tough one. I said to Bernhard, "Why is it always here that you have a maybe 20, 25 feet putt, and you think it's good and it always goes three or four feet behind and you have that test back."   It's like, "Why?" You think you hit a good putt, and it was a good putt, because it's close to three or four feet, which is a great putt here sometimes. But you can never really relax. It's always the focus. And it sounds negative, but I love it. It's great because a lot of people get frustrated and I did get frustrated in the past. But you have to accept it. It is what it is. It's a tough week and you will make a couple mistakes here and there. But what I said, you know, I worked a lot on the putting. I don't know if it's going to work out. If it doesn't work out this week, maybe it works out in a month. I was trying to peak for this week. I was trying everything to prepare myself as good as positive. I was practicing really hard and you can feel the body is getting tired. But I tried to ignore that, because you know you're going to have enough adrenaline when it comes down to when the tournament starts. I can't tell you if all the work will pay off this week. I would love to; if not, it will be another week. Q. You sound like you have a lot of questions when you play with him? MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, but more off the golf course. He's so good on the golf course, so I think he's very happy off the golf course. So I ask him a lot of questions about different stuff that has to do something with golf but not playing or not the strategy of golf course and stuff. So obviously he's very experienced, and the way he does things, they are very much the way I want to do things. We are very similar in that category. And because of his experience, I believe that is the most valuable thing you can give to someone, because you experience it yourself and not just read about it or something. So that's why. And he's always very open about it. He's telling me‑‑ yeah, if I ask him something, there's never anything‑‑ he never holds anything back, so it's very, very helpful. Q. When you were struggling, I know you commented a couple of times on how tiresome and negative it was to answer the same questions all the time about what's wrong, what's wrong. Can you even imagine what it's like to be Tiger Woods right now? MARTIN KAYMER: To a certain extent, but who really knows what is going on in his head. I hope he's happy. I hope he's fine. I hope he will play well this week. But what would bother me a lot is all the speculations. You don't have a choice; you will read about it somewhere. You will hear about it because you socialize with people. People ask you, so you don't have a choice and you will listen to it at one stage. So mentally, it must be quite exhausting and we know how important the mental part is in golf. So it's difficult, and some things I don't find very fair. You know, you should just let him be. Let him play golf, what he likes to do. So it's sometimes, I look at it and find it quite sad how people treat the whole subject. It shouldn't be like this in my opinion. But that's how it is unfortunately. That is how a lot of people make their money, and some athletes, they suffer because of that, and hopefully he's strong enough, he has people to talk to, and he finds a way to compete as good as he can. Because we all know when he's around, somehow it does make us play better, as well. Q. Still? Is that still the case? MARTIN KAYMER: I mean, I never experienced someone who played better than him. In my era, I never played with Seve and I never played with Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, those guys, I never did. So for me, what I have seen and what I have experienced, he's the man. Q. When is the last time you played with him? MARTIN KAYMER: I think it was at THE PLAYERS, when he pulled out after nine holes. I think two years ago. Q. 2011, you and Webb. MARTIN KAYMER: Could be. No, 2012 in Kiawah Island, I played with him and Keegan Bradley, PGA Championship. Q. Rory has been getting a lot of attention for his physique and heavy weightlifting, do you lift heavy weightsand can players ‑‑ MARTIN KAYMER: (Flexing) (laughter), obviously Rory is a strong boy. If you see pictures from him five years ago, you see him now, this is impressive. He was‑‑ I don't know if you've seen the picture that my caddie shared I think a week ago, I was quite chubby, too, when I was young. And Rory, he looked similar five years ago. Now he looks solid, good unit (laughter). So I think you can see that his whole focus is on winning tournaments, seeing where is the limit physically and obviously whatever mental stuff he does, I don't know. But the physical part is obviously very obvious. Q. Are you wary of overdoing it or you're pro‑lifting? MARTIN KAYMER: Myself? If I do too much? No, then I would look different. I think I have a good balance of doing it. You always want to do more, somehow, as an athlete. But sometimes you feel like more could be worse, because if you're not 100 percent sure what you're doing, so you need a little bit of guidance. And to find the right guidance sometimes is difficult; to find the right people that think similar than you who don't‑‑ or who push you sometimes when you need to be pushed, but then maybe at times where you feel like you have to go, you have to go; that person tells you, look, you don't need to go. We will find a way. Sometimes if it doesn't come down to golf, if it comes down to other things that has to do with golf, if it comes down to it, I'm impatient, I need to see the success right now. It's the same in fitness, but you always can become fitter. You always can become stronger and more flexible. And again, when you see Bernhard, I mean, I'm 25, 26 years younger than him, but I don't think I'm that much better when it comes down to flexibility in the gym than he is. So I think it's a long process and you can't really do it just for a year or so. You have to have a long journey. Q. You said before you like difficult courses and difficult set‑ups. If you do get weather or rain this week, will that let more of the field into the tournament and if it's your preference, would the course play dry and hard, or soft? MARTIN KAYMER: It's difficult already. When I played yesterday and today, obviously there was very little wind, no rain. I would like to see it as tough as it gets. I think that's my best chance. Q. And it let's in a little more of the field if it's playing a little softer, more chances for more players to win? MARTIN KAYMER: I don't really care if it's very, very soft, and therefore very much playable, or not. I just would like to see it very, very tough; that you get even with good shots, it's getting a little frustrating; that it's mentally very hard. I would like to see that, whatever it is. If it's just the weather, when you have rain, it's going to be a battle, anyways. So whatever is going to happen going to be a very, very tough and exhausting week. So hopefully it will be one of the most exhausting weeks in the year because not everybody can do that. I'm not sure if I can do that, but I would like to see the challenge and see how far I can go. Q. More importantly, can you beat Rory McIlroy in an arm wrestle? MARTIN KAYMER: That's a very important question (laughter). I think after seeing those pictures, he's a very strong boy. I don't even‑‑ I don't want to go there. I give him the win (nodding head). FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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