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NEDBANK GOLF CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY GARY PLAYER

November 11, 2017

Martin Kaymer

Sun City, South Africa

Q. You got yourself right into the mix in this tournament. Are you pleased with three days work so far?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, of course, result-wise was very good. I didn't make many mistakes over the last three days, I think I made only four or five bogeys, which was actually, especially yesterday, was a good effort.

But I didn't really know if I played well or not. Feels a bit strange. I said to my caddie on 18, "Do you think I played good the last three days"?

He said, "I think it's okay. You just don't any mistakes." It's one of those tournaments where it's very solid but you can also have a very, very good day in there. It can happen quickly.

Q. Do you think it's there or thereabouts? Is it just around the corner for you, one of those rounds?
MARTIN KAYMER: I've been playing solid the last couple months but really didn't happen for me. Usually on the green, it's held me back a little bit.

But this week has been a little bit different. I was putting fine. Today I made a great chip-in on 8. That helped a lot to get the round going.

So I think it's more that I had very little mistakes.

Q. When it comes to making mistakes around this course, there's plenty to be had out there but scoring opportunities were certainly there today?
MARTIN KAYMER: Maybe that's the way it looked on TV but they put the tees, the pins in all the corners. It was very difficult to get to the flag once you missed the fairway. When you hit the fairway, then it's okay.

But we all know how difficult it is to hit the fairways on that golf course. But I think the average is maybe seven or eight fairways per round, in my case, the last five or six years. Which is not a lot. So therefore, I don't think it was that easy the way I think the players made it look like.

Q. How do you rely on past experience here, especially when you're in a position like this and in the mix heading into the final round?
MARTIN KAYMER: Obviously it's a little bit of an advantage, as you know, you have done it before. When I won here, I wasn't in the lead after three rounds, fairly similar to this year. So I could build up on that one.

I haven't been in that position for the last few months. It feels really nice to feel a little bit more pressure than the last few months that I played tournaments.

So I look forward to play that golf course. I've got great support here. I've had good success in the past and I look forward to that excitement. Hopefully I can get it going early tomorrow and I have a chance.

Q. 3-under par, how would you assess your play?
MARTIN KAYMER: I don't know, it's hard. I don't think I played great but I played solid. I didn't make many mistakes over the last three days, really. I think I made only four or five bogeys, which is a great achievement, especially yesterday.

I just think I played the golf course fairly well. I don't miss that many fairways, which is a key to play this round.

Q. One of the highlights was the chip-in at 8, a magnificent chip-in. Just describe it for us.
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, it was a very difficult pitch over that ridge to a flag which was in a very, very small corner.

But I worked actually a little bit on the short game with Gary Player. He helped me a little bit. We had an SAP day in Germany and he took me aside and I had a little lesson from him. He's always very supportive of my game and always tries to help me. I'm very excited to tell him tomorrow that I actually had a chip-in. It was a tough one, so I think he will be very pleased.

Q. Been a while since you've been in this position. Your last Top-10 was in February. How much are you enjoying being back where you belong, really?
MARTIN KAYMER: Thank you. I've been playing fine but just not good enough on the greens and around the greens. We all know when you have an okay day, you still need to shoot 2- or 3-under par, and my okay days were level par or 1- or 2-over, and that's not good enough to get yourself in position.

Fortunately this week, it's been a little bit different. It feels nice. The game is coming back to where it's supposed to be. I had a little battle with a couple injuries during the year which is very, very frustrating. I'm the kind of guy that likes to practise a lot and if you can't practise, you always feel a bit, yeah, not ready to play a golf tournament.

Fortunately the last couple of months were fine and I could practise enough. It's nice that some good results are showing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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