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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 26, 2011

Martin Kaymer

MARANA, ARIZONA

PAUL SYMES: Martin, it's been a long day, but you must be delighted with how it's turned out in the end.
MARTIN KAYMER: It's a long day, for sure. It was mentally very difficult, as well. Match play is definitely mentally more exhausting than stroke play. But the good thing is there's only one more round to go.
PAUL SYMES: How does Martin Kaymer World No. 1 sound? It might take awhile to sink in, I appreciate, but just give us your initial thoughts.
MARTIN KAYMER: Definitely I need some time to think about it. The good thing is next week I don't play a tournament, so maybe I can realize what happened. But I can say one thing for sure, you know, it's a very proud moment. Not only for me, I think for my family, for the people who helped me and, you know, for Germany, as well. To be the second German, I think it was maybe '86, '87 when Bernhard Langer was No. 1. It was a long time ago. And to be the second is a nice feeling.
PAUL SYMES: Luke Donald in the final tomorrow. Obviously, fellow Ryder Cup teammate. He described your game as quite similar to his; you just hit it further. How would you assess his game?
MARTIN KAYMER: I think he's a little bit better on the putter. He's very good in the short game. He's one of the best match play players in the world, otherwise he wouldn't be in the final tomorrow. He has a lot of experience in Ryder Cups, as well. And it will be -- there were a lot of difficult matches out there, especially yesterday and today, but tomorrow, because we are playing for a big trophy tomorrow, for World Golf champion trophy, and that adds a little bit of pressure, maybe. So it'll be definitely a very difficult day for me tomorrow.

Q. Last week I asked you who the best player in the world was and you told me Lee Westwood, because he was ranked No. 1. Well, who is the best player in the world now?
MARTIN KAYMER: Still Lee Westwood until Monday (laughter).

Q. How about after Monday?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, when the rankings say that I'm the No. 1, then I'm the best player in the world. And if they say so, then that's the truth.

Q. Do you believe that?
MARTIN KAYMER: Not now. But maybe on Tuesday or Wednesday, when I see my name up there, I'll definitely take a picture of that moment.

Q. This last year and a half, especially this last six months, four wins since the PGA and possibly another one tomorrow. What's been the biggest difference in the before and after for you? Why this crazy spike? You've been the most successful player the last six months without any question?
MARTIN KAYMER: I think after the PGA, the PGA Championship that gave me so much motivation and so much belief that I can win any tournament that I play. And I think the most important thing was that I kept working on my game, that I didn't stop. That I didn't want to be, I don't know, just win once and kind of like you don't hear about me anymore. I kept playing and kept winning. I think it's just because of that.
Did I really know that I can win any tournament that I can play in? My short game has been very good since last year. It has been -- has improved big time. But I think it's a mixture and a combination of many, many little parts.

Q. Not only was it 36 holes today but the wind was blowing. It was cool. After that kind of a day, just how tired are you now?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, of course I'm very tired. And I will definitely eat very well tonight. I will have a big steak.
I think Luke, he played definitely less holes than me, might be a little bit of an advantage for him tomorrow. But I'm a little bit younger, which might be my advantage.
It was a tough day, but the good thing is I'll sleep very well. Hopefully I can get to bed soon and then I'm ready to win tomorrow.

Q. Are you finally -- finding it difficult at all to celebrated this moment for what's going to be coming out on Monday and still having to stick to the business at hand tomorrow?
MARTIN KAYMER: For sure. When I hear those things, that I'm No. 1 in the world on Monday, I'm in the middle of the tournament. I don't really know -- it would be fantastic tomorrow if I could win, then it really feels like I deserve to be the No. 1. I'm not saying that I don't deserve it, but it would make me feel better if I would win instead of finishing second tomorrow. So, yes, it is a little strange.

Q. Could it possibly work to your advantage that you've been perhaps tested more than Luke over the last four days, in terms of being put in stressful situations?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I don't think he has played very often 17 and 18, but I've played them many times. Maybe when it comes down to this, maybe I have an advantage.

Q. Fanny said we had to ask you about the scarf?
MARTIN KAYMER: Why did she do that? I don't know how it's called in English - snood. And I heard a lot of guys in soccer they are using that. I just got it yesterday in order to stay warm. And maybe it's a European thing. Maybe we'll see it more often on the PGA TOUR.

Q. Did you bring a turtle neck with you?
MARTIN KAYMER: No, I'm staying in Scottsdale, usually to get ready for tournaments. When you drive only one and a half hours, you're not expecting to bring a sweater, even. But if we needed a turtle neck, I was not expecting that.

Q. Your demeanor on the golf course seems to have a range of about this much, you always seem to be the same. Do you ever get mad or do you just not show it? And if you do, how could we tell? Because you seem -- that seems to be one of your strengths.
MARTIN KAYMER: I think it's very German. If you know Bernhard Langer the way he is on the golf course, I think it's very good for golf.
For me it helps me a lot to stay calm. But of course I'm mad at times; I'm excited about some things. But I think for myself I know I'm always trying to put a hundred percent in there. I'm always trying to do my very best. And that's all I can do. If I do well, I do well. If I don't do well, then that's how it is. And I think, yeah, of course, if you screw up a tournament, yes, of course you're mad and you want to destroy something. I think that's pretty normal. But it takes me a while.
I mean, it didn't happen yet, but maybe one day it will happen and you will see. But so far, you know, I think it's very good for golf.

Q. Could you it talk a little bit about how Fanny is helpful to you?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, Fanny and me, we know each other since seven or eight years now. She was helping out us in the national team when I was an amateur. And she was talking about course management and strategy and some experience that she had with Nick Faldo, and I found it very interesting.
And then when I played the qualifying school five or six years ago, I could always call her and then we talked about a few suggestions for the golf course, how I felt about certain golf shots.
And then since 2008, when I won my first tournament, you know, we were talking about why I won, why I screw up some tournaments, you know, just to find solutions for things.
And in the end of the day, I found the solutions by myself but only through talking to her. And the experience that she had and the right questions that she asked me, they made me to the golf player I am today.

Q. What's her position, can you describe it, coach?
MARTIN KAYMER: Coaching.

Q. Just coach?
MARTIN KAYMER: That's how she calls herself.

Q. Your match kind of turned on 15 and 16. Then Bubba came right back and slapped you with a great shot. Can you talk about 17 and 18 knowing you had to make that putt, what were your thoughts?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, 15, you know, you don't want to win a hole when somebody screws it up. You don't want to do that. It would have been nice if I made the putt for birdie to win the hole in the proper way. The way I won 16 was huge. When I was standing over the putt, I was reminding myself what happened yesterday with Hunter Mahan, that was a very important putt that I made. And 17, I mean, it was a great round.
We played good golf. It was always up and down. He was 1-up, I was 1-up. I don't think we played very good golf, scoring-wise, but, you know, we kept ourselves alive. And on 18, I think -- I'm not sure, maybe I took the wrong club on 18. It was a little bit long. I was in between clubs, and I didn't want to make the same mistake Bubba did. But the up and down, obviously those moments, they tell me that I can -- I think at the PGA, that was just big putts that I made. And they gave me the belief and every putt that I'm facing now, which is difficult, I know that I can do that. And that's what I was thinking on 18, as well.

Q. What clubs were you in between?
MARTIN KAYMER: 7 and 8.
PAUL SYMES: Big day tomorrow, so we'll let you get on to it. Thanks again.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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