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ABU DHABI GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

January 24, 2010

Martin Kaymer

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

` SCOTT CROCKETT: That was Martin, many, many congratulations to you, that was a truly wonderful performance. You won here two years ago and I know you were delighted with that, but this must give you more pleasure; and it was a fantastic day out there and you really had to battle hard.
MARTIN KAYMER: They were four fantastic days, yeah, but especially today it, I played very solid. Yesterday on the front nine, I was hitting a lot of fairways, hitting a lot of greens, hitting a lot of good putts today but I left a few short online, and I'm really pleased with 66. It was very tight in the middle of the round Mr. Poulter made a few birdies, all of a sudden Mr. McIlroy made a few birdies, and I was not leading the tournament anymore. I was one behind after I think 14 holes or 15 holes.
SCOTT CROCKETT: You played well all day, particularly well at last there, fantastic shot into the green, just talk us through the last hole.
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, the main goal is to place the ball in the fairway with the tee shot. Then you have a chance to go for the green in two. Otherwise, you have to lay it up. Especially for this pin position, you really need to be on the fairway.
So I had 252 metres to the flag, and I hit a solid 3-wood, pushed it a little bit but was pin-high, and then I don't know how long was the putt, maybe 20 metres, 22 metres, hit it pretty solid. I thought it was a little bit more downhill and a little faster, but left myself a little tester there. About you I didn't miss any short putt this week, so I felt pretty comfortable when I was standing over the ball. It was a pretty easy putt right inside the hole and went in the middle.
SCOTT CROCKETT: And 17, as well --
MARTIN KAYMER: That was probably the most important putt I made today. On 17 hit a bad second shot, pulled it way left, I think by 35 metres or something, and had quite a difficult lie in the rough next to the green, and then had five metres. It was a pretty solid putt right at the target where I wanted to putt it. So that was a very, very important putt for me, yeah.

Q. Was it definitely a 3-wood?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, it was a 3-wood.

Q. Did at any stage in the tournament did you think about laying up or were you always going to go for it?
MARTIN KAYMER: No, way. In general I'm an aggressive player, and I need to make birdie on the last. Ian Poulter, he laid it up, so I thought if I made birdie, I would be at least in a sudden death. So I never even thought about laying up.

Q. Did you expect Poulter to do something else, and second part, when you hit that second shot, you said you pushed it a bit and you never looked until you followed it --
MARTIN KAYMER: I was expecting Rory and Ian, I was expecting them to play well today, but I thought if I play another 67, it's going to be enough. I didn't really expect that the score goes this low this week, especially it's the final round, usually you play always little -- I don't want to say worse, but you don't really shoot very low in the final round, but today I really had to. Ian, he was 6-under after 12 holes, which was very, very good.
And second question, 3-wood, yeah, I was aiming towards the flag and I thought, okay, if you want to miss it, then you want to miss it right, because there was still a lot of green and even if it goes in the bunker it's still an easy bunker shot because everything is downhill and you don't want to miss it left. [] when it took off, it pretty much started at the flag and then it was just cutting away, but it was okay.

Q. You've won five times in Europe now, twice here, have any of the final days been so intense? Your group was 17-under par?
MARTIN KAYMER: It was actually one of the nicest rounds I've played on The European Tour so far. We were playing, all of us, we were playing so good today. It was very solid and all about birdies, just making birdies, birdies. Not really avoiding bogeys and of course everybody had to scramble a little bit on the greens but it was all about birdies today. We were going for the flags, we were going for all of the putts, we were not shy, we just went for everything, which is great. And that's why we were scoring that well.

Q. Can you compare your emotions to your first European Tour win?
MARTIN KAYMER: Of course, the first win was during the whole round, the entire round, I played really defensive two years ago. I didn't really go for the birdies, you can see that my putting was really defensive. I left a lot of putts short. Today was different because I knew I had to make birdies to win that tournament. On 18, yeah, it felt different, of course, my first win is always special, you know, it's quite tough to get the first win.
Now I got my fifth win on Tour, which is awesome. Hopefully it will help me in The Ryder Cup rankings, which was my main goal for this year.

Q. Martin, can you talk about how you feel when you're in contention now, two years ago here and Germany -- now the last, I think seven times, you've been in contention, you've shot in the 60s, and on the final day, and I just wondered, do you feel completely different on the final day now, and has it reached the point where you enjoy it?
MARTIN KAYMER: I don't see it completely different but more self-confidence. I've been in contention a few times already in my career, the last three years, I don't know how many times I've been in contention, but the first two wins I had, I was leading, it was by a big margin. My first win, it was difficult; and my second win I had in Germany, because of the circumstances was very difficult for me, and of course, winning in your own country is very special.
Now, of course, it has changed a little bit. My self-confidence is bigger than two years ago, and I think it comes from playing well all around the world. I played well in Europe, I played well recently, I played well in the major -- the last majors I've played, and I'm getting better in the World Golf Championships events.
If you add it up, then at one stage, you feel really comfortable and you know that you can beat those guys.

Q. I think you're 56-under par here the last three years; what is it about this golf course that suits your eye that you like?
MARTIN KAYMER: You just have some golf courses that you're playing during the season that you feel really comfortable with, when you're standing on the tee, you know, okay, it's an easy tee shot for me into the bunker, my shot will come automatically, no problem. Some golf courses they are not really suiting your eye, it's just one of those things.
For me, I don't know, but I can reach the greens here very, very well. I made a lot of putts the last three years I came here, and I don't know how many 3-putts I made the last three years, but I don't think there was too many, because I really can read them very well.

Q. As you walked to the final hole, did it cross your mind to go --
MARTIN KAYMER: When I was walking on to the 18th green today, I thought, you should go for the eagle, but I didn't want to make a 3-putt; I was a little defensive.
But anyways, of course, those positive things should come up in your mind. It's always good. Actually I thought about the putt that I had three years ago, it was just a little bit longer and from the front of the green, and I made two putts. I tried to say, this year, you'll be fine, at least a playoff. Of course I was hoping that birdie is going to be enough, and finally it was.

Q. There must have be a momentum swing on 17, do you think that had any bearing?
MARTIN KAYMER: I think you have to ask Ian Poulter. He was a little pissed I don't have, I don't know. It helped me, definitely. Those important shots, if you make them at the right time, it gives you big-time motivation.

Q. Can you see yourself contrasting how you played -- with him two or three years ago?
MARTIN KAYMER: Since he came back, he had a long break in the middle of season last year. Since he came back, he never finished outside the Top-10 and I talked to him the other day in the players' lounge, and I think he missed three cuts last year, and finished always in the top 20. And how he made in The Ryder Cup, 2008, was very impressive.

Q. Your first European Tour event, you're the second-most successful German golfer after Bernhard Langer; is he the person you want to emulate or is there somebody else, any golfer? Is there any other golfer you really want to emulate?
MARTIN KAYMER: I don't really know how many wins Bernhard Langer had --

Q. 42.
MARTIN KAYMER: Thank you. (Laughter) So I still have 38 to go then to overtake him.
Of course, it would be nice, but I don't really think that is going to happen. I mean, 38 more wins, and especially the tournaments that he has won; he won twice the Masters. I really don't want to compare myself with Bernhard Langer because he is really special, and I don't know if I can really be as successful as he was. Of course I'm trying but what he has done is very special and he's playing amazing golf on the Champions Tour.

Q. Early days in the Money List stakes, Martin but this win takes you up to second place behind Schwartzel. Presumably you're playing now in the rest of The Desert Swing in Doha and Dubai?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yes.

Q. So what would be your schedule after that, and how important after The Ryder Cup priority is getting to and staying at the top of The Race to Dubai?
MARTIN KAYMER: After Dubai, I will fly back to Phoenix and I will practice there for a week, then I will play the Match Play, FBR Open, which is right next door to my apartment, which is nice, I can stay at home. Then I play Doral, I play Houston before the Masters and Quail Hollow, and my text tournament will be in Europe will be Wentworth. I will be in America from the first week of February until May. Of course it's nice to be second already in The Race to Dubai, but what you said earlier, it is very early and the most important is that you play very consistent the entire year and that you play good in the World Golf Championships and majors. I didn't play well the last three years, or three years, and this was one of my goals that I had; that I have this year is to play those big, big events better, and through this you can be on top a little easier. If you play those events well, you can be in the top three or top five at the end of the year.

Q. So many goals coming up, did you achieve the goal you set yourself between your last win and this win, and what specifically can you do in the next two years?
MARTIN KAYMER: My goal for every year is pretty much to win at least two tournaments on The European Tour. I did this 2008, I did this 2009. It would be the nice to do the same this year.
And what I said earlier, my main goal is just to play The Ryder Cup this year. When I went there two years ago, I really felt like what I said yesterday already, that I really want to be there one day, because it's so cool and it gives you so much experience, and even I was not playing, but it helped me so much.
So this is definitely my goal in the future is to play the big events better and to have at least two wins on The European Tour, and try to play in The Ryder Cup.
SCOTT CROCKETT: Martin, many, many congratulations and good luck the rest of the year.

End of FastScripts

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