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ALSTOM OPEN DE FRANCEJune 30, 2010Martin KaymerPARIS, FRANCE RODDY WILLIAMS: Martin, thanks very much for coming in to join us and welcome back to the Le Golf National as the defending champion. First of all, if you could give us your memories of winning here last year. MARTIN KAYMER: It was obviously a very special win for me, because my brother and my dad, they came over for Saturday and Sunday to watch me play this golf course. And the way I won was very special, too, because in the playoff with Lee Westwood; to win against a world-class player is very special. And I definitely had a lot of motivation. I won next the next week, Loch Lomond and it was a very, very special win for me here in France, a very good tournament with a big field and went a lot to me. RODDY WILLIAMS: Not a lot of players win back-to-back titles, and you obviously enjoyed a golden two-week spell. MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, everybody was talking about the hat trick, get the hat trick at the British Open. But I was very pleased with two wins in a row, and they were special wins. They were big tournaments in Europe. They were not very small tournaments. The field was very good, like I said already. Loch Lomond there were a few Americans that came over before the British Open. It meant a lot to me to win those two events in Europe. RODDY WILLIAMS: What do you like of the challenge here, of the course? MARTIN KAYMER: You have to be very precise with your tee shots. The golf course, it plays very narrow from the tee. You have to be very precise, and usually I'm pretty good with that. Obviously you have to make the putts, but that's every tournament you play. I think the key shots are definitely the tee shots here. Q. How is your form now compared to this time last year? MARTIN KAYMER: The last year, I missed the cut at the is open. I missed the cut in Munich, and then all of a sudden I won here. I feel very good about my game at the moment. I didn't play very well the last two months, or actually two months ago I didn't play very well, but the last couple of weeks was better. I feel like my game becomes better every tournament I play. It's nice to have that right now in kind of like that stretch of tournaments that we play now, because they are very important tournaments, and The Ryder Cup, as well. It's a good feeling that everything comes together just at the right point. Q. How did you feel about your performance at Pebble Beach? MARTIN KAYMER: My short game was amazing. I made a lot of long putts. I didn't make a lot of big mistakes. I was avoiding the big numbers. I didn't make any double-bogeys. Everybody makes bogeys on that golf course but I was -- I didn't make a lot of those. I think the biggest -- or my strength was definitely my short game. RODDY WILLIAMS: Talk about the strength of the field here a little bit, and also strength of European golf in general, a lot of success around the world over and over in America, obviously U.S. Open Champion but four players in the world's Top-10 here and you're just outside it. MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, you can see a few Americans, they came over; and Geoff Ogilvy, he comes over. So obviously it's a tournament that's known as a good tournament, not only because of the prize money; because of the field, because of the location here in Paris, and obviously they are trying to get the Ryder Cup. I think they might struggle, because I hope that Germany will get it. So there are many things, if you combine them together, which makes sense to come here, and of course, for us Europeans, it's great to welcome some PGA Tour players, and next week, the same, Loch Lomond. I think Mickelson, he plays every year before the British Open. Geoff Ogilvy is playing this year. I don't know who else comes over from America, but you can see that the American players, they get more interested in European golf, as well. RODDY WILLIAMS: How much are you looking forward to St. Andrews? MARTIN KAYMER: I played there as a kid many times. I played there, the British Boys 1999 I think. And I have good memories, two years ago when I was in the playoff against Robert Karlsson and Ross Fisher. I really fancy that golf course, and I love to play those tournaments, because they are going to set it up very difficult for us, and you have to be very patient and you have to play good golf. It's going to be one of the best challenges that we have all year. I really prefer those tournaments. It's always fun. You have to be very patient and you have to hang in there. Everybody will make bogeys on that golf course, but it's all about making pars and collecting some -- collecting pars and give yourself like some birdie chances, and I really enjoy those challenges. Q. When did you arrive? MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I had a Schüco day on Monday and then they offered to fly me out here to Paris on Monday night but I said would I rather go home for a night and sleep in my own bed and drive here on Tuesday morning. Q. What are you driving at the moment? MARTIN KAYMER: TheM3, the BMW, for the first hour and then I was limited to 120. Q. How many cars do you have? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I have two in Germany and two in America. Q. Have you seen the course yet? MARTIN KAYMER: No, I haven't played yet. I came in last night and I will go out and play the Pro-Am. RODDY WILLIAMS: Looking ahead through the summer, this is a big event, but Ryder Cup on the horizon, what are your thoughts, aspirations on that front? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, obviously that's my main goal, to play The Ryder Cup. That's why I was practising very, very hard last winter and spring to get ready for those big events or the upcoming events to put myself in The Ryder Cup. I think I started very well in Abu Dhabi with that win, made a couple of good finishes in America with the World Golf Championships event and the U.S. Open. I think I put myself in a good position, and to be honest with you, I would be very disappointed if I wouldn't be on the team. I'm not hoping for a wildcard. I would like to qualify like the normal way, and I don't even think that I'm in the position to receive a wildcard. I think if you play your first Ryder Cup, you should be able to qualify yourself, but you shouldn't get a wildcard. So I will do anything to make it happen, somehow to be on the team this year. RODDY WILLIAMS: A lot of competition for it, isn't there, with so many players playing so well. The way things are shaping up at the moment. MARTIN KAYMER: That's a good thing about the Europeans to know that the Americans, they don't have as many young players on the team as we have. And people they say it can be a disadvantage, some people say it's an advantage. I will say it's a big advantage because everybody is so pumped up and want to play The Ryder Cup on your own continent, and the thing is, we don't have not only young players, we have very, very good young players and very different players. Alvaro Quiros, he's a special player, Ross Fisher; I think we are going to have a good team this year if everybody keeps playing like this. Q. Do you put pressure on yourself as defending champion? MARTIN KAYMER: I mean, I put a little pressure on myself because I've played well here the last couple of years. Actually 2007, I finished in the Top-10. 2008, I can't remember where I finished there, obviously won last year. Loch Lomond, it's a very -- I don't know, it's a special place for me. I feel very calm and very comfortable when I'm walking on this golf course, and Loch Lomond, the surroundings that make me feel very well. But I don't feel any pressure from anybody else. I just want to play well, not because of the fact that I won here last year, but because of the fact that I need to play well to make The Ryder Cup Team. Q. Is it disappointing not to have the likes of Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Paul Casey next week in Loch Lomond? MARTIN KAYMER: Oh, they don't play? I don't know. Well, I didn't know that. Of course it makes the tournament not as good as it was last year. Obviously for us, World Ranking points are going to be less. Besides that, I just need to take care of my own golf. Obviously it would be nice to have them there. It would help the tournament and make the tournament more interesting for us and the spectators. Q. What do you think of Le Golf National as a Ryder Cup venue? MARTIN KAYMER: I think it's a golf course, for sure it's a good golf course. I think we have good facilities here. I think the hotel is not the best, we should work on that. I think the hotel has to be a little bit bigger. The setting is perfect. You have the holes on the golf course, the area for the fans, you have to increase that a little bit, but besides that, it's fantastic, you have the city here, so a world-famous city. It's a great golf course that's made for The Ryder Cup, so why not. Of course I think that Germany has a good chance, too, and we are going to build a golf course for that. I think if you build one, it's even better. Q. Will you play in the Olympics? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I played in Puerto Rico once in the Eisenhower Trophy in 2004, but besides that, I didn't play golf in that region of the world. First of all, I need to qualify, and if I qualify I think for any athlete in the world, it's the best thing to be up there on the stage and listen to your National Anthem. That's probably the best to win the gold medal. The gold medal in the Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world, and I think if you can -- Augusta, you win for yourself. The Olympics you win for yourself and your country. So that makes it a little more important. RODDY WILLIAMS: Martin, thank you very much. Good luck this week. End of FastScripts |
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