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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 27, 2011

Martin Kaymer

MARANA, ARIZONA

PAUL SYMES: Martin, the week might not have ended as you wanted it to, but there are still an awful lot of positives to take away from this week.
MARTIN KAYMER: It was a very good week for me. Of course I was hoping to win today. I was trying everything I could, I just didn't play as good as the last few days. And the way Luke plays, even a decent round isn't enough.
PAUL SYMES: World No. 1 is not a bad consolation to take.
MARTIN KAYMER: I was very relaxed this morning, saw the snow, was walking on my balcony, was in enjoying the moment a little bit, knowing I will become the No. 1 in the world tomorrow. There's not a lot to say about that. It was a very enjoyable moment this morning.
And I was very relaxed when I went to the first tee. I know I was trying my very best. Of course, I was a little bit tired, but when you play a final there's no time for tiredness. I was trying everything I could and it just didn't work out.
PAUL SYMES: Luke goes to No. 3 in the word. So now we've got the Top 4 in the world are Europeans. It must be great to be part of the European resurgence.
MARTIN KAYMER: Yes, especially to be the first is nice on the top. Yeah, of course, European golf has been great. And for us to make golf even more popular in the world, it's fantastic to have four Europeans up there. It was always Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and now there are four Europeans up there, so it's good.

Q. Can you take us through -- you got it back to all square, fell behind, but the 14th hole, can you talk about the 14th hole?
MARTIN KAYMER: The 14th? What happened there?

Q. Not 14. The 11th, sorry.
MARTIN KAYMER: 11, you know, we had the same -- pretty much the same approach. Yeah, he made his putt, as always, you know, you can expect that.
And I just struggled with the speed on the greens today. I never really had a chance. I was way too aggressive with the putt sometimes. I left the putt short. That was just my problem today.
That was probably the turning point on 12. The next hole there I blocked my 7-iron way right and couldn't make the up-and-down. I was struggling for 4. So it was just my problem today.

Q. Having fallen behind early then got it back at the turn, did you feel that the match was turning in your favor at that point?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, definitely I was hoping for it. When you're 3-down after 5 holes, you probably hope that I can go back to all square after 12, 13 holes. And then all of a sudden on No. 9, I was all square. And No. 10, you were thinking or hoping, maybe you can go 1-up here. I was on the green, had a good birdie chance, and he was in the dirt. So you think maybe 50/50 that he makes his up-and-down. But if he makes it up and down, I still have a chance to make 3. So we tied that hole. And then I lost 11 and 12. It was a tough one, but that's how it is.

Q. You talked about the four Europeans at the top of the World Ranking now. Do you see this as something that's going to last a long time or is there a lot of volatility and we'll see other players up there?
MARTIN KAYMER: I'm sure Tiger and Phil, they will chase us up there. But the guys who are up there, they are very consistent, good players. So I can see them staying there for a while, yeah.

Q. Looking from outside the ropes, it looked like the one you just mentioned, hole 10, looked to be crucial. You were on the green and in pretty good shape, and Luke was in the dirt. Did you feel at that time you were going to get him 1-up when he hadn't been down in any of the matches so far. This was a big psychological moment, did it turn the game?
MARTIN KAYMER: I didn't know that he was never down. But of course I was hoping, you know, to win that hole. You don't want to see him making bad golf shots. I was just hoping to make my putt. And it was probably the best putt I hit today. But it just didn't happen. And all of a sudden you see yourself 2-down the next two holes, and you're struggling.

Q. When is the last time hail fell on you while you were playing and how were the conditions out there?
MARTIN KAYMER: I think it's not that long, that long ago. I think in December when I was practicing in Scottsdale, it was bad weather and I was practicing in that weather. But I said that earlier to Rich Lerner, my parents, they took my brother and me out in the wintertime around Christmastime and we played in the snow with some pink golf balls or orange golf balls, so obviously it was not the same.

Q. How were the conditions out there?
MARTIN KAYMER: It was -- the first nine holes it was not very nice to play golf. But in match play it didn't really matter. Both of us, we had to go through it.
The back nine was nice to play. But it was definitely the toughest day from all of the last five days.

Q. Can you just talk about Luke's play going six rounds, played 90 holes and never trailed in any one of those holes. Just how impressive is that?
MARTIN KAYMER: I think he's definitely one of the most consistent players on the Tour. And I think he's probably the best in the world in the short game at the moment. I played with Phil Mickelson a few times and it is unbelievable.
But what Luke is doing at the moment is a joke, you know. Wherever he is, you know that he will make the up-and-down if he doesn't hole it. And it was impressive.
And you can always see that I have to work on a few things to get better in my short game. You can always learn from those things. It was a good experience for me. It was a good round. Even though I lost, I still get something out of it.
PAUL SYMES: Congratulations, again, Martin.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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