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OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSICFebruary 8, 2011Martin KaymerDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES STEVE TODD: Martin, many thanks for joining us. Pleasure to have you here at the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic, an event you've done pretty well in the past, two top four finishes and a second place. It's a tournament and a course that is to your liking. MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, very much. I always like to come to Abu Dhabi and I Dubai a lot. I always play well here, first Abu Dhabi is a little bit better to be honest for me. I play well there. But in Dubai, I managed to play well in 2008 when I finished second behind Tiger three years ago and every year, I fancy the golf course a little bit more than others. STEVE TODD: Last week the golf course wasn't particularly to your liking; so is it nice to be back on one that you've had some success before? MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, you know, sometimes it's frustrating when you play well, but you can't score very well. And that was the case last week but this week it's a little bit different I hope. I must -- yeah, I like the golf course much more than Qatar and obviously an experience that I've had here, when you've played well some where, that gives you the belief that you can do well. STEVE TODD: A lot of attention this week that the world's 1,2 ask 3 are here. Just your thought on being part of that. MARTIN KAYMER: It's always a great field here in Dubai. There's always a lot of World Ranking points here and it's fantastic for the tournament. I don't know how many guys are playing in the Top-10 this week. They have a lot of World Ranking points and obviously everybody, Lee, Tiger and me, we have a chance to become the No. 1. I'm sure I'm going to get that question later (laughter). So you're probably going to get the same answer as last week. It's interesting, and I think fantastic for the golf tournament. Q. Well, we might as well get the No. 1 issue out in The Open straightaway. You said you're going to give the same answer as last week but another week has passed, you had a chance last week to take that cherished No. 1 ranking. How do you feel about your chances this week, bearing in mind that Tiger is in the mix, as well as Lee this time? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I mean, of course I can't take care of his game. But I think I have a better chance to become the No. 1 this week than last week because I fancy the golf course much more than Qatar. So from this point of view, yeah, the chances are bigger and higher this week. Like what I said last week, we will see. It's not my main goal. I'm here to win a golf tournament. If I win, yes, I'm No. 1, and if not, then it's fine, too. And I can see and read how much pressure Lee Westwood has had at the moment. Everybody is expecting him to play well, and how he handles the pressure is very good I think. It's not easy to be the No. 1 in anything. Tiger was it for a long time, but he's somewhat different. He's the best player in the game that ever lived, and for us normal golf players, if you want to say so, it's very difficult. What Lee has done and how much pressure has, is pretty good. Q. Of the two, who do you think represents the greatest barrier to you becoming No. 1, Tiger or Lee? MARTIN KAYMER: The great barrier, I don't know what that means. Q. Who presents the bigger obstacle? MARTIN KAYMER: So who is my closest opponent or rival? Q. Who do you think represents the greatest threat to you becoming No. 1ment? MARTIN KAYMER: Obviously Tiger, he's struggling a little bit this year and last year, as well. I think seriously the media has to let him sort out a few things. It would be very nice for everybody and for the game of golf, as well, if he would come back again. And for us, as well, it would be great to play against the best players that ever lived in his top form. But there's not really -- I cannot say that Lee or Tiger is playing, I would say, more as a rival than the other. At the moment, I think it's just very interesting for golf and in the last few years, it was always Tiger and Phil up there. It's interesting, I cannot really pick Tiger or Lee. Q. Could we get your reaction to playing with Tiger and Lee in the first two rounds and your experiences of playing with Tiger so far? MARTIN KAYMER: I don't even know if I play with him. Q. You're playing with those two? MARTIN KAYMER: Oh, okay. Well, I never played with Tiger Woods before. Of course I've met him but I don't know how it is to play with him, so it will be nice. It will be great for the tournament, the top three playing on Thursday and Friday. So I look forward to it. Yeah, I think we shouldn't really see it as a rivalry. We are out here to have fun and play good golf and show the people that we do our job with passion and love. It's not about winning or losing in the end of the day. It's about challenging each other and having fun. Q. How long have you wanted to play with Tiger? MARTIN KAYMER: How long have I wanted to? Probably since '97 when I saw him winning the Masters but I think 15 shots. Q. Were you watching on telly? MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I did. It was pretty much one of the first tournaments I watched, and I've been playing golf since 15. That was pretty much the first tournament that I watched on TV, and to see the best player in the game winning a tournament like this, was, yeah, quite an inspiration. It was definitely an inspiration and motivation. Q. Will you be nervous when you tee it up with him? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, he's a human being. So I don't know why I should be nervous. Q. Just because you've wanted it and you've always thought of playing him. MARTIN KAYMER: I haven't wanted him I'm just hoping that one day I will play with him because he's the best player that ever lived, that ever played the game. You can only learn from him. But by the end of the day you know he's a human being as well and he's not winning every week. So it would be just interesting to talk to him a little bit here and there, and just see him hitting different kind of golf shots. There are some for me that are impossible to hit, and maybe we'll see a few of those in the next couple of days, and it would be nice to just, yeah, see those things live right next to him and it will be definitely a great experience for me. Q. In terms of playing with Tiger, he's now No. 3 and he's had his struggles does that change the way you look at competing against him compared to say five or ten years if you would have had this chance a few years ago, or do you still see him as the same threatening, dominant golfer? MARTIN KAYMER: What I said, he's the best player in the game. We just hope that he comes back to his form the way he was, because, yes, now, at the moment, Lee and me, we are No. 1 and 2, but in every golfer's mind, he is the best player in the world. And it would be fantastic if he can go back where he was and then challenge him. I mean, at the moment, he is struggling a little bit, but he can still win every week. He doesn't need to be in his top form to win a golf tournament. Q. You spoke about Tiger, but you, also, have spoken very highly of Lee Westwood and you obviously played with him a lot during The Ryder Cup. Why don't you tell us about Lee Westwood, as well? MARTIN KAYMER: He helped me a lot at The Ryder Cup. I think '97 was the first time that he played The Ryder Cup in Valderrama when Seve was the caddie -- was the captain there (laughing) that was a funny one. When we were playing last year in Wales, obviously he could see that I'm a little bit nervous, because I was not used to play those huge events, because you're not playing for yourself only. I played for Europe, not only for my country, Germany, but for lined of like an army of Europe. And Lee, he took me aside and said, you know, 13 years ago I played with Nick Faldo in Valderrama and I know exactly how you feel right now. He said: Just try to enjoy it. You would not be here if you were not one of best players in the world and just try to take it easy, play some golf and take it as a practise round and just relax. And then that evening we talked a little bit when we had dinner together, and he's just a very nice person. You know, he cares and it showed me, as well, there are a lot of great athletes in the world but he's a fantastic person, too. And that makes him I think at the end of the day, I think that makes a big difference. Q. You said in November in Dubai that if Tiger comes back and plays as well as he has in the past, that he's unbeatable; that he's better than you. Do you change your opinion on that now since then? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, it would be nice to go head-to-head on Sunday. I would love to see that. But I don't know what to say. What I said earlier, it would be nice if he could go back where he was and then play against him and what I said, every week he has a chance to win, everybody knows that he is struggling a little bit at the moment with his game. But I think let him sort out a few things in his private life and we will see him more often taking pictures on Sunday afternoon. Q. If he's going to get back to the levels that he used to have, where does your game compare to his, to that level now? MARTIN KAYMER: I mean, I think it would be nice to find out. I cannot really compare my game to Tiger Woods game. I never played with him. I've seen him play. I've seen him making shots that were impossible for me. I can't really compare my game to him or what's going to happen. Hopefully it will happen one day if we play head-to-head against each other. Q. People do say that golf needs Tiger Woods to make a comeback, or can you in this era can you fill that role? MARTIN KAYMER: It would be nice if he could come back because the last 15 years, he did so much for golf in the world. Honestly without him, we would not play tournaments that we do. We would not have so many sponsors, the media interest, and in general, the sport interest in golf. So I think golf needs Tiger Woods, yes. Q. But can you fill that role? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I mean, I haven't won 14 Majors yet. I have won one. Of course I am trying my very best but it will be very difficult to step in footprints from Tiger Woods. I would never, ever compare myself with Tiger Woods, because, you know, for me, he's the best player. And it would be a little bit too much I think. Q. Kind of being sarcastic a little bit, but where is the killer instinct? He's bleeding, why not this week just send him to his grave? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I am in front of him at the moment. Q. You seem to be very generous in saying, I want him back. Why not say -- MARTIN KAYMER: I think you shouldn't give him such a hard time. I have a lot of respect for him, all of the things that he did and we are very thankful for what he did for golf. You know, like what I said, we are not enemies on the golf course. We don't like to see people suffering. Of course, you want to win evident Sunday but we don't like to win a golf it tournament when somebody screws up. You know, that's not the way I would like to win a golf tournament. It would not please me as much. The way I won in Abu Dhabi, winning by eight shots, that's a great win and that makes me happy. But it would not make me happy if Tiger finishes with a double-bogey and an 89 and I win by one. That's not how I play or like to win golf tournaments. Q. Do you think this week in terms of the No. 1, that the pressure is on Lee in terms of -- that you are in a good position; that he's the one with all of the pressure, facing all of the tough questions about maintaining No. 1 versus you who doesn't have that same kind of pressure? MARTIN KAYMER: Like what I said, Lee is probably the biggest pressure this week. But I hope that he can still enjoy playing golf. At the moment, I think every week, I know how it is. Obviously I get that question every week, and he has to handle even more because he's the best player in the sport, the best athlete in golf. But you know, we will see. It's just -- I'm just happy for the golf tournament, for European golf to have two Europeans up there in the World Ranking, after Tiger and Phil were dominating the World Rankings for so many years, it's interesting for the game. I hope that he can enjoy it on Thursday and Friday when the three of us go out and play some golf. Q. Last night was a great night out for you once again, another award. Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award. You've won so many in the last four or five months, what does another award like this mean to you, and does it motivate you? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, that was probably the greatest award I ever got. To be there in the room with all of the athletes, actors, celebrities, Johann and me, we were sitting next to each other just looking around, talking about people, how cool it is to be in the room to see them live. And then being on stage, you know, to see down there where I was sitting Boris Becker, huge role models and now I'm sitting on the stage talking about my life, my career a little bit, it's a little strange that people listen to me. But it was a very proud moment. I was probably never that nervous before in my life when I was standing up there. But that gave me a lot that evening, I really enjoyed it, to meet different people there, and afterwards, I sat down with the other German who won, Verena Bentele, who had five gold medals. She's blind. But those people, they really deserve those awards. It was impressive how she handled everything, and the other athletes, how they were talking to me, just little -- all of the celebrities, it was a very cool and proud moment for me. Q. Did you meet Messi or anyone like that? MARTIN KAYMER: No, unfortunately not, I don't even know if he was there. Nadal, was around, he won the biggest award. Tony Hawk, he was there. And yeah, Morgan Freeman; it's just cool to be around those people. I would love to go to those ceremonies more often, to get to know those people and you can always learn. It's just so interesting for me to sit down with Verena last night and just listen to her about her experience in her sport, and the stuff that she does. We cannot really realise and think about how difficult it is, what she does. And for me, it was just interesting and put things in perspective a little bit, how lucky we are and people who are complaining all the time about this and that. You know, there are people in life and in our sport and our world that have it much tougher than us. For me, it opened my eyes again a little bit. Q. Have you noticed any increase in interest back home at the prospect of you becoming world No. 1? MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I got that question a lot last night, too. But it was nice. Obviously the German media is getting more interested, as well, which is fantastic. I enjoy that, for the last two or three years, there was not a lot. Golf was not very popular, but now it's getting more. Last week when I was in Germany, some guys, they came up to me in the gym and said, hey, we have seen you winning in Abu Dhabi, it was nice, do you know where we can start playing golf, we would like to just try it out, we think it's cool. I never heard that before. When I went to school, everybody was like, golf, old people (laughter). But now it's getting bigger, and obviously those awards that I received last night, they can only help and I hope that I would try to make golf more popular in Germany. STEVE TODD: Thank you for your time, Martin. End of FastScripts |
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