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BMW MASTERS

November 11, 2015

Martin Kaymer

Shanghai, China

STEVE TODD: Martin, a warm welcome to the BMW Masters, a tournament you've played twice before, just outside the Top-10 on both occasions. Just give us your thoughts on this week and the 2015 season.

MARTIN KAYMER: Well, to be honest, you know, it's nice to have those two weeks in a row, playing last week and this week, it really helped to get going for the last tournament of the season, we are playing in Dubai next week.

Overall, I think it's a very, very challenging golf course, it's very, very long, especially when the wind blows. I can remember that from 2013 when we played here, the last two or three holes on Saturday and Sunday was very brutal and very difficult to par.

So in general, I think knowing this, it's going to be a tough golf course. It takes the pressure away of thinking that you need to make a lot of birdies and really keeping your score together. So yeah, just waiting for your chances.

So overall, the season so far, I wouldn't rate great because I haven't won a tournament. I've had a few Top-10s here and there but in the end of the day, we all play for wins.

So I have another two tournaments left this year that count for The Race to Dubai, and then I play another two that I'm going to play after that, so hopefully I can pick up another win. Because usually, I don't really have a season without a win and I don't want to have the same this year again. I wish I could pick up one down the rode.

STEVE TODD: We saw last year after winning here how it propelled Marcel Siem in The Race to Dubai, and you're just outside the bonus pool at the moment. A victory or a good performance this week would propel you right up there.

MARTIN KAYMER: Well, the bonus is nice, but it's just a financial thing. You know, in the end of the day, my goal is to really finish as high as possible. If I see the list here, what is it, the fifth is 2.5 million points, I don't know how many I have. But a win would definitely get me to the Top-10 and then another decent one next week.

It would be nice to finish somewhere in the Top-10, maybe the top seven, top eight, that would be good. You know, consider that I didn't have a great year, I think I'm still in an okay position because of a few good events recently. But the guys who are on top, they really deserve to be on top. They played very consistent and very well in the big events.

The bonus is one thing, but again, that's just a money thing that I'm not that interested in. We play for rankings.

Q. You said usually you don't have a season without a win. Does it put more pressure on you playing the last few tournaments?
MARTIN KAYMER: Not really pressure. I see it more as an opportunity to fulfil my minimum expectations. Especially if you win one of those events, they are very big events, a lot of World Ranking points. That means the field is very strong, so it would be very satisfying. It's not like a major, but it's still huge. And I've never won one of those events, and I'm still playing -- besides Nedbank, but this week and next week, and it would be very, very nice to win at least once in my career and this year would be a good time to do it.

Q. So related to the Olympic Games, what's your opinion of golf in the Olympics? And because of the Olympic schedule next year, it's very tight, very different. So will you do something for the schedule to have a better performance in the Olympics?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, first of all, I think it's great that golf can be part of the Olympic Games. Some players are very excited about it. Some players, not so much, which is fine. I think there's obviously a very individual opinion about it.

My schedule doesn't really change for it. I'm probably going to play the same amount of events leading up to the Olympic Games. I don't even know how it feels to be part of it, because we have no experience in it. So I'm sure it can be very overwhelming emotionally. So I try to, because there's no experience, I try to see it and try to prepare for the Olympics the same way that I've prepared for a major.

Q. So back to this year's performance, compared to last year, you had such a great year. So what's the difference? Has anything changed related to the performance this year?
MARTIN KAYMER: I practised less (laughter). It's pretty simple (smiling).

Q. Why?
MARTIN KAYMER: Last year was a very special year, and you know, for me, it's very important that if you have big wins, that you enjoy the wins, too, that have a meaning to you, instead of just keep going, keep going. And there's a time for me to practise hard and wait for the success, and there's a time for me to enjoy the success that I had.

So some say it's right, some say it's wrong. For me, it's the best way to enjoy the wins and to motivate myself for new goals for the future. This year, I just practised a little bit less than last year, and yeah, that's it pretty much.

It's quite interesting to hear you say you practised less. Does that imply that you had more fun off the course doing other things, and if so, what --

MARTIN KAYMER: I always have fun wherever I go. What I mean with the practise, golf-related, I did a little bit less. I tried a few different things fitness-wise, because I know if I focus completely on golf, I know it's going to work out if I do the work that I need to do with my coach together.

So this, I know for myself: If I put in the work, it's fine. The fitness part, I didn't really know yet how can I put my body in a perfect position. So I need to figure that out. And the process for me this year was a little bit more important than golf practise because everything is leading up to those sort of big games next year.

So golf-wise, I have that experience. Fitness-wise, I didn't. I screwed up a little bit this year before the Masters because I did too much and I was a little tired by then. So I needed to find that balance, so I focused a little bit more on that. That's why the time that I usually spend on the range, maybe I spend a little bit more in the health part.

STEVE TODD: We'll let you go and practise. We appreciate you joining us and best of luck this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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