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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDEJune 1, 2019Martin KaymerDublin, Ohio MARK WILLIAMS: Just must have been pretty invigorating and exciting for you, talk about that. MARTIN KAYMER: It was nice. When I saw last night I played with Jordan, I was looking forward to the round. Obviously there's going to be a big crowd supporting him. Last time I played with him was five years ago, I think, at Sawgrass. So for me it was just important to start off well and hit good quality shots the first five or six holes. I was early in the round under par. Obviously that helps for the attitude. Q. Just one missed putt inside 15 feet through three rounds. I think you're plus nine strokes in the field in strokes gained putting. Have you obviously found something this week on the greens? MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I think I read them well and I stroke them well. So I think it's one of those times, similar to Pinehurst, where I didn't miss many putts within 10, 12 feet. Obviously you need that in order to win on the PGA Tour. And I put myself in a good position. I didn't know that I was nine shots, plus nine shots on the greens. But I don't really care about that. I worked really hard on the short game. I worked really hard on the putting over the last two or three years, and particularly over the last four or five months, so I'm not apologizing. Q. You just must be standing there feeling very comfortable out there? MARTIN KAYMER: I like the speed of the greens. And I stroke it really well. Once you see the ball going in the ball -- the hole seems bigger. So it's just one of those weeks where putting so far worked really well. Q. You spoke yesterday to us about this kind of calm that you've gotten about your game and your manner. I just wonder how you feel it will translate tomorrow being the leader, being the guy that's being chased, and obviously not having won on the Tour in a few years, how do you think that will manifest itself? MARTIN KAYMER: I think once you lead a golf tournament, it's so much about how much can you handle yourself. And obviously if somebody takes a run at you, it is what it is. But the game plan doesn't really change. For me it's pure enjoyment the way I play right now. I don't have many weaknesses that I see at the moment. But under the circumstances it can change. Obviously handling certain nerves and pressure and stuff like that, who knows how you will react. And that is the beauty of the golf; that you can't really prepare yourself for those special situations. Obviously I can relax a little bit because for me really there's not much to do. I didn't really win any tournament over the last few years. Now I'm competing in a PGA Tour event again, which is a huge tournament. But a great field. So I just really embrace the challenge tomorrow, try to keep working on the progress. If it happens to win, fantastic; if not, I will learn a lot, which will help me, especially with the busy summer that's coming up for me. Q. Kind of similar question. You talked about not getting caught up in results the last few years. Do you think that will help you going into tomorrow, that you're not fixated on what's at the end of the line? MARTIN KAYMER: I don't think it will help me. I think tomorrow is an important round in terms of can I finish four rounds in a solid way of golf, solid playing, or is it only three rounds. But no matter what it's going to be -- it was a really, really nice week. I learned so much. And it gave me so much confidence and belief again for the next few months. And I worked really hard. Being No. 1 in the world is very difficult to understand when you get there a bit by surprise. I didn't really expect myself to be the No. 1 in the world by 25 years old. So now seeing a bit from the outside, it means so much more where I am already after three rounds than just winning a regular tournament anywhere in the world. It was coming back from where I was, not really competing week in, week out, it takes a lot of patience, a lot of work, dedication and passion for the sport. And it's just a very nice way of seeing the whole picture, I think. Q. How close do you feel to being the player you were when you were winning U.S. Opens and No. 1 in the world? Are you the same player, better, different? MARTIN KAYMER: I think you have to -- I need to answer that I'm a better player, for sure. Because overall -- sometimes experience can be in the way, if you don't use it properly for yourself. But I think I worked through it the last two or three years so I can use it to my advantage. I know that a round of golf, I said early in the interview, if you just make the cut and you are 60s or so, they're the same 18 holes you played and if you lead the tournament, so you just play 18 holes tomorrow. That's just what it is. And the beauty is that I don't need to prove it to myself anymore. And that's very nice to know. And I think it takes the pressure away and just play 18 holes and see. Q. Did you see what they were saying about you on Twitter this morning? MARTIN KAYMER: No, I haven't -- Q. No, I'm just checking. MARTIN KAYMER: I don't know. Q. I want to ask you, does it matter, do you think, when a player is trying to win who hasn't done it for a while? And it's not just you, it's Adam and really the other three behind him haven't won for a couple of years. How much does that really matter, if at all? MARTIN KAYMER: You mean for myself or for everybody? Q. For anybody. MARTIN KAYMER: I mean, all of them, if you take Jordan, if you take Adam, or Matsuyama I think was up there, too, they have won huge tournaments and they've been out of it for quite some time. They're good enough to win any week. And it's the same for me. It's just a matter of how much can you handle Saturday and Sunday. And you need a little bit of luck here and there as well. If you see Rickie's career, how many majors he could have won already if there wouldn't have been that one guy ahead of him. So I think we can all play good golf, and it's quite nice for tomorrow because no one is really holding back. I think you only hold back if you don't know the situation because then you don't know how to react and you play safe, defensive. And all of a sudden you're three or four shots behind after nine holes, and then you're hoping to finish in the top-10. No one is playing like that in that group, which is in front right now, I think. Q. Adam was in here saying that you two have had some pretty good discussions over dinners. I didn't know how you characterized your friendship or relationship with him, and is that going to help you bring maybe some calm to tomorrow or not? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I like spending time with Adam. Adam is a gentleman. He's a very nice guy to be with who is very aware of what he says, how he carries himself. He's obviously a world-class player. But just spending time with him you can always learn about his life attitude, how he also adapted living in America, playing a lot of PGA Tour events. Obviously when you come from a different country, it's a different culture, also. So we talk a little bit about that. So I enjoy his company, and I really respect him as a person. As a golf player, we don't need to talk about how good he is. Q. I would like to talk about how good he is. What do you respect about his game and -- MARTIN KAYMER: You're Australian, right (laughter)? Q. Yeah. MARTIN KAYMER: So you want me to compliment him as much as possible. Q. Yes, please. MARTIN KAYMER: No, he's -- I think he's one of those guys who doesn't have any weaknesses. Sometimes you have guys they don't drive the ball very well. They have some weeks that they putt well, some weeks they don't putt well. People talk about him not putting well, I don't see that. I think he's a good putter and overall just a solid player. I played with him in the practice rounds when he won the Masters. I played with him Saturday and Sunday. I should have put money on it because the way he played was just so pure and was beautiful to watch. You're playing with him and Ernie Els, I really enjoy because it brings calmness to your own game. It brings -- like the atmosphere that you create in the group is quite nice, especially in those vital situations when it's about winning a golf tournament. Q. What don't you like about him? MARTIN KAYMER: He's better looking than me (laughter). Q. You talked a little bit about Jordan there, and he's kind of in a similar spot to where you were, No. 1 at a very young age, and then trying to get back to that point. I wonder if you could go back and give yourself some advice, a couple of years when you started to kind of drop down, what would you tell yourself back then? MARTIN KAYMER: It's a tricky one because I don't think -- I think you shouldn't ever go back because the time that I spent reflecting on what I've done and how it made me to the player today, I'm quite happy with it. Obviously I could have enjoyed that success a little bit more, and maybe if it would have sunk in a little bit more. If you think about my career, it's a Hall of Fame career really by 30, needing one or two majors to get in the Hall of Fame. And I don't realize what I've really done. It just happened. And for me it's not like I thought it was normal, but it didn't mean as much as it should. And that's a bit of a shame. That is what I would tell myself maybe three or four years ago, to enjoy the victories and the success that you created by yourself without much help. You had people around you who really believed in you, who worked really hard for your success, they just were partners in your -- on your path. And I think I would have showed a bit more appreciation towards them, and also I think I would give myself a bit more credit for what I've achieved. Q. You sort of just touched on this, but you and Adam are part of this pretty small fraternity of people that have been world No. 1 that are still active players. I was just wondering what it's like and how it's different before, during and after your time as No. 1? MARTIN KAYMER: That's -- that could be a long answer, my friend. Well, I'll try to make it short. At the beginning you don't really know if you're capable of becoming No. 1 in the world. Especially when I came out it was always between Tiger and Mickelson the whole time. And I would never compare myself to them, especially not when I'm 21 years old and never won anything. All of a sudden you see yourself being No. 1 in the world and you're in the middle of it. And it's a very, very proud moment. You're the best player on earth. No one is better in something that exists, whatever you do. If you do rowing, basketball, table tennis, football, whatever it is, you're the best in the world. No one on paper is better than you. So it's an amazing feeling. And afterwards it's just a number. Number next to your name. It didn't mean that much. The way to get there, the ten years it took me when I decided to become a professional and decided to try to make a living out of it, that is something that was amazing. To get up in the mornings five, six times in the wintertime in Germany, it's minus five degrees Celsius, you're standing on the range and you just do it because you like it so much. And if you ask me now if I would do it again, I don't see myself doing the same thing again. Back then I didn't really question myself. It was part of what I liked, and it's crazy to think about that. If you ever hit a ball thin when it's cold -- and I enjoyed that. And that's why -- then it's something afterwards that you're very proud of. Q. When you won THE PLAYERS Championship, you're saying to yourself that whole week was (speaking German). What would you say to yourself tomorrow? Are you surprised that I said that correctly? MARTIN KAYMER: I didn't understand, Michael. Q. When you won THE PLAYERS Championship -- MARTIN KAYMER: I got that, I just didn't get the -- Q. (Speaking German.) Is that right? Did I not say it right? MARTIN KAYMER: I don't know. Q. You don't remember? MARTIN KAYMER: Oh, (speaking German). There you go (speaking German.) Sorry, it was my mistake. I should have gotten it. Q. What would you say to yourself tomorrow? MARTIN KAYMER: Tomorrow -- that means if you're a wimp, if you don't play the game properly. If you play bad certain times. Tomorrow is not about that. Tomorrow is playing brave, playing the way I can play, enjoying the capability of my game. Everything is there. I don't need to hold back with anything. I don't need to be afraid of something that could happen. So I just look forward to whatever happens tomorrow. It will be an amazing challenge and say great way of learning experience for me after such a long time, being in that position. MARK WILLIAMS: Thank you for your time, Martin, good luck tomorrow. MARTIN KAYMER: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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