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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

July 28, 2016

Martin Kaymer

Springfield, New Jersey

JOHN DEVER: Welcome back to the 96th PGA Championship Baltusrol Golf Club. Joined by Martin Kaymer, who put up a 4-under 66 today.

Thanks for spending a little time with us. Six birdies, one bogey. Can you talk a little bit about the conditions there, first of all. Was it the rough, the greens? What made it challenging? Was it the heat? What made it challenging for everybody out there today.

MARTIN KAYMER: Well, there's nothing easy on the golf course today, or in general. I just didn't miss many fairways and therefore, you can create some birdie chances. But at the end of the day you still need to make the putts, and fortunately today, I could use the two par 5s, 17 and 18. Even had a good chance on 18 to make three. And I think that was for me today the biggest thing. I rarely put myself out of play where I need to scramble a lot. The last three or four holes, I needed to do a little bit of that, but in general I kept it together and created chances, and I think that's the key on the golf course. You hit a lot of fairways, and once you miss the fairway, because the par 4s, they are quite long, especially on the front nine, it gets really difficult to sometimes even hit it on to the green.

JOHN DEVER: When you talk about scrambling, are you talking more about maybe a fairway you miss, or are you talking about more on the green, getting up-and-down from close.

MARTIN KAYMER: Both. Especially the last five, six holes, I had a massive up-and-down on 5, which is a tricky hole. Today when we played it, it was wind left-to-right, and it's not a long hole, but it was a little bit awkward to hit that fairway, and I missed it. I made maybe 15-, 18-footer for par. That was a huge, huge par today.

And I made a great up-and-down on 8, had a bunker shot from 40, 45 yards, and I hit it to two or three feet, and then made a nice up-and-down on 9. That was really important in terms of, let's say, thinking about tomorrow already, because I'm going to play in a few hours my second round. It was a good momentum-keeper.

JOHN DEVER: Which gives you more momentum, a save like that, or a birdie, or are they kind of equal.

MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I said to my caddie when we walked down the third hole, I would have rather missed the putt on 1 and made the par putt on 2, because psychologically, it's a little bit -- you know, you saved something, and there's something positive. Obviously you get the positivity out of that birdie on the first, but you follow it up with a negative on the second, so a bogey would have been a bogey-free round. So if I could have swapped, I would have rather done that. So I always prefer a par save.

Obviously a birdie, you gain shots, but a par save, sometimes it means more.

JOHN DEVER: And you birdied 3.

Q. You've obviously been in this position before in majors. Can you just talk a little bit about, compare how your game feels now, as to other times that you've been in contention and gone onto win?
MARTIN KAYMER: I think the last few weeks, I've been playing very solid golf. I put myself up there to have a chance on the weekend, but unfortunately I didn't make enough putts over the weekend; and therefore, I could finish Top-10, yes, a few times, which was fine.

But today, and the British Open, it was very similar. The first round I played solid and I made a few putts. Nothing major, but just a few putts that probably good putters make. And that was the biggest difference or the reason why I haven't won a tournament this year or that I wasn't even really close.

And I think I'm really happy the way I hit the ball; that I don't make many mistakes. It's very solid because I was working really hard to have a good summer this year. Slowly it's paying off, but result-wise, no. We all want that win and that is what we all play for. Hopefully it will still happen.

Q. Talk about the course a little bit. What do you like about this course, and do you like it generally, and what do you like about it?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I think I'm very glad that we go back to a golf course which is like an old-style course. And it's amazing that they haven't changed much to when they played here 10, 11 years ago, and it's still very tricky, even though the equipment became a lot better and we hit the ball further and all those things.

You just need to drive it very well. If you don't drive it well, you can make a lot of bogeys and double-bogeys. I enjoy golf courses where it's not only putting competition; you know, where you need to hit good golf shots, left-to-right and right-to-left where you need to play the game.

I feel like the golf course here with the trees everywhere, you have to shape it around the holes, and with the holes, and I really enjoy playing that golf course the way we did it today.

Q. Is it hard to make putts out here?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, for us it was I think more mentally difficult, because when you bent down to put your ball down and you see a lot of the footprints, the guys that have walked there, especially the three-, four-footers, it's more a mental challenge to really commit to your line and hope that they roll well.

I was surprised, the greens, they were not as bumpy as they looked. So the greens, they were still fine and you could make some putts. So yeah, I'd rather play in the morning on great greens, but there was nothing to complain about this afternoon.

Q. Were they slower?
MARTIN KAYMER: They were a little bit slower than yesterday I think. On Tuesday they were fairly slow. Yesterday I think they were faster, and today, they almost got them back to Tuesday, the way I felt. But not as slow as the British Open. That was another level.

So fortunately, we go a little bit faster now.

Q. What is it with you and even-numbered years, the two major, The Ryder Cup clincher in 2012; any explanation for that?
MARTIN KAYMER: No, I don't think it has much to do with the years. It's more about that has always been my career, even as an amateur, since 2002 and 2003, I always go through some really nice highs. And then for some people, they are very bad lows. For me, they are fine, because I know why they come and I'm not too worried about it.

I think it's normal that once an athlete has a lot of success, that it takes a little bit of time; that you want to enjoy the success. It has to settle in, and for some people it takes a little bit longer. Maybe I'm a little bit slow in terms of that, instead of just keep going and try to win every single week, and doing -- actually competing every single week.

I'm just not that kind of player I think. I'm more the kind of player who has some really nice highs in my career, and then I have some time to enjoy it again. Then all of a sudden, you know, you create a little bit more inspiration from something, and then you play better again.

It could have been also been some odd-number years, but it's good years usually. Those are The Ryder Cup years, and obviously for us, it's huge to qualify and play.

Q. With The Ryder Cup this year, how much is that on your mind as you prepare, even for a major this week?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, fortunately, I don't put pressure on myself in terms of making The Ryder Cup Team. Of course I would like to be there. But it doesn't affect me in a negative way.

You know, back then in 2010, that was the first time, or pretty much 2008 was the first time that I had a realistic chance to make the team. And every single day I played the tournament, you know, I was just thinking about points and comparing myself to other players who I was fighting with to get that final spot. And now I'm very relaxed about it.

Because I know since 2012, since I made that putt, deep down, I know it's a team effort. If I'm good enough to contribute something to the team, to make a win or to help it win, great. If somebody else would be better, then he should play. It's not about me.

This week is about me, and all the other weeks. But The Ryder Cup is more about the 12 players. And I don't want to make myself too important, you know. If I make it, I hope I can win and I can help the team. If not, I'm not good enough; somebody else is better.

Q. How would you compare the state of your game today versus how it was in 2014 when you had a nice run with The Open and PLAYERS?
MARTIN KAYMER: I think PLAYERS and the U.S. Open that I won they were a little bit different kind of tournaments. The U.S. Open, I think Henrik felt it at the British Open, the way he played golf. I think it was the same mentality the way I played golf at the U.S. Open. You just go for birdies and you just play pretty much against yourself.

And so Mickelson and Stenson, that is what they did at the British Open. I think it the same way I played the U.S. Open in 2014. Now I'm a more complete player, I would say. More in terms of like the mental side. I don't put much pressure on myself. I really enjoy playing golf, and especially courses like this where you need to play the game, and it's a lot about feel, and not only just hitting it long and out there and trying to make a birdie putt.

So I think in general, you grow, not only as a golf player but as a person, as well, and through that success, through the two major wins that I had, I think you grow a lot more. You take things a little bit more -- you value them a little bit more, and therefore, somehow it calms me down.

Q. How much of an issue was the heat today?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I was drinking a lot before I even got out. I drank some coconut water in the morning, and then I had some amino drinks before the round on the range already. You just need to continue that and you should be fine.

Q. Are you a good hot weather player in general?
MARTIN KAYMER: If you have a look at my wins, I guess I am. We all like to play in heat rather than in rain or winds, because the ball flies further. You don't need to wear any additional clothes.

Yeah, so if you think about my success, I guess I am, yeah.

Q. You said you get inspiration and start playing better; what's been the inspiration for this latest run?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, that I'm part of the Olympic Games. I really look forward to see the best athletes and lunch with them and see what they do; see how they work out, maybe have a chance to talk to some of the guys.

If you have, for example, Dirk Nowitzki there, Michael Phelps and those guys, they are the best in what they do. It's so, so, inspiring, and I really look forward to go, experience that, and I don't know how I will feel. I'm sure it's going to take a couple weeks after that to reflect on all your experiences. But I think, I just look really, really forward to see the best in the world in sports, because sport is a great -- any sport is so fun, especially for the kids. I just look forward to see and watch the best of the best.

Q. Couple of questions on those. Do you hoping to and see other events while you're there, and do you think when Michael Phelps isn't swimming, he's going to come watch golf?
MARTIN KAYMER: I don't know. Does he play golf? I mean, he has an invitation. He can walk inside the ropes I'm sure.

I would like to see some other sports. And not only the Germans; all the other different countries. I just would like to see the best, the best athletes in their sports. Because I think -- I watched Lionel Messi a couple times when Barcelona played against Bayern Munich and I went to the stadium, just to see the class, the natural talent of an athlete, is amazing. You know, you can work as hard as you want but you are never going to get there.

If you see Roger Federer, the way he plays tennis, it's so nice that he almost thinks like -- looks like he doesn't think much. He just does what he's supposed to do. That's just his calling. And that is just so great to watch them and just -- sometimes it's funny how good the athletes are. Because you compare yourself, how bad you are, because obviously you tried the sport, and I look forward to that.

Q. I'm sorry, I didn't hear the previous question, but if you're playing for yourself this week and you play for Europe in The Ryder Cup, who do you play for at the Olympics?
MARTIN KAYMER: Ultimately I play for myself because that's all I can do for my country. If I take care of my business, then I help my country, as well.

So I think it's similar to if you play the singles in The Ryder Cup. Somehow you play for the team, but in that moment, it's only about you; that you deliver your point. And that is the way I see it at the Olympic Games.

JOHN DEVER: Martin Kaymer, 2010 PGA Champion, thank you for your time.

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