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DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY DP WORLDDecember 6, 2011Martin KaymerDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES GORDON SIMPSON: Martin welcome back to Jumeirah Golf Estates, which I have a feeling is one of your favourite venues. You have some nice, happy, warm memories from last year and what happened when you actually won the second Race to Dubai. MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, last year was very nice. Obviously the first year when we came here, I think I had a good chance to win The Race to Dubai in the middle of the year when I was leading; and then unfortunately I had a little accident. But last year finally I could win and you know, my dad was here and a few other people that I involved in my career and my golf. Obviously it was a very special week. GORDON SIMPSON: Very emotional I would imagine, as well. MARTIN KAYMER: It's very special. Sometimes if your family cannot be with you all the time and you win such a big event and a great event, then it's kind of like a new level that you reach, if you win the Order of Merit, you become No. 1 in Europe and you can share with someone, it's always better than raising a trophy. GORDON SIMPSON: Probably puts in perspective what Luke Donald could achieve this week by doing it in America and in Europe if he can keep ahead of Rory. MARTIN KAYMER: Well, that's huge obviously. The way he played golf this year, and the last two years, he deserves to be the No. 1 in the world, and I hope for him that he will win here this week, because that is what he deserves. He played great golf, and it would be nice for him. GORDON SIMPSON: And from your own perspective, you can still finish second behind Luke. MARTIN KAYMER: That's my goal for sure. Obviously coming the last two weeks, I know that I can't win anymore. But I can still finish second and try to defend I think. Q. After your win in Shanghai, were you a little disappointed you made your schedule ahead of time and not give yourself more tournaments to have a chance to win The Race to Dubai? MARTIN KAYMER: Not at all. I played a lot of tournaments this year and some people were saying I should have made in Singapore or Malaysia or Hong Kong. To be honest, I played a lot of tournaments. I was not really expecting my win in China. I was playing good golf but if you shoot 63 the last round, which doesn't happen very often, you know, it was never my plan to change anything just to go to The Race to Dubai. I was just not ready to play for tournaments, the way I travelled the last four or five weeks, has been crazy. I can feel you're getting very tired with all of the time changes. When I came from China, I went to America, it was a 15‑hour time difference, and then back to China, another 15 hours, and last week to South Africa; and at one stage, you have to think about your body, as well, and not so much about finishing first or second. Q. More than anybody else in the field this weekend, you've had the most success in this country, as a whole, does that give you a big boost coming into this week? MARTIN KAYMER: It's always nice to come here. It's just a place where there are some places like Rory in Hong Kong where he feels very comfortable. I just like coming here, to Abu Dhabi to Dubai, it's where I like to play and where I like the people, I like the food. It's very relaxed for me. It's like the whole combination this makes the tournament nice. If you feel good about your week, about a place, about the whole setting and the organisation, then you can play well. And that is something that‑‑ yeah, that's a place in the world on Tour that I just like to come. Q. You talk about China; with the year you've had, you started off real strong in Abu Dhabi and then you had some struggles. How did the win in China kind of get you back on track and does it kind of get you in strong position this weekend? And second question is, Tiger obviously had a good weekend and Rory was asked about facing him next year, if he's on top of his game, how would you feel about coming into Sunday next year and going head‑to‑head with Tiger? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, first of all, I think it was still a good year. A lot has happened this year. I won in Abu Dhabi and I became No. 1 in the world, and then I won a World Golf Championships, which is‑‑ there are not too many people who win two tournaments and become No. 1 in the world in a season. So I think it was still a successful year. But obviously it is not easy to handle all of those things for the first time, if I would become No. 1 again, then obviously I know what I can expect and I can handle it in a better way. And with Tiger, obviously it's nice for him I think that he could win again. It's good for us. He did a lot for the sport and the status that golf has in the world, we have to be very thankful for that, and I think every player appreciates all of his help the last few years. And what's going to happen next year, maybe we'll see it on Sunday afternoon in Abu Dhabi if and when we face each other. Q. How would you feel facing him on a Sunday in Abu Dhabi? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I don't mind it. It would be nice. I know the place. He doesn't. (Laughter) but it would be interesting, of course. I played with him a few times in the past. It would be nice to play against the best player whoever played the game in their top form and see if you can beat them. Q. Last year at this very same stage of this tournament, when we were talking to you, and we asked you about your priority for 2011, you came up with a very surprising answer, saying that all you wanted to do was to do well in the Masters. You became world No. 1 after that. You won The Race to Dubai after that. But what is your priority for 2012 now? MARTIN KAYMER: My priority, my goal‑‑ well, it would still be nice to play on the weekend. It would be still nice, walking up 18 on Sunday afternoon in Augusta. But my goal is just to play better in the Majors in general. This year has been a little bit of an up‑and‑down season, a lot has happened, so it was tough to prepare properly. But next year, I would love to play the same way that I played in 2010. Q. Could you just describe what the differences are, whenever you are ranked world No. 1, and why would you be better off handling it if you get it again this time? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, first of all, there was only one world No. 1 in the world before me as a German, it was Bernhard Langer many, many years ago when the World Rankings started. And so obviously golf has become a little different in Germany. I get more attention, became a little bit more popular. No one from my, let's say, the people I work with, was used to have a player who is No. 1 in the world. So it was a matter of getting used to a lot of things, and for me, only 26 years old, all of a sudden being in the spotlight wherever I go in America, in Germany, it takes some time to get used to the situation and that role that you have. And if it happens now, you know, I know what's going to happen, and I think I can definitely handle it a little bit better. But at the beginning, it was a little bit overwhelming. That's just how it is and it took a little bit of time away from my practise, and I'm sure that my game suffered a little bit, as well. But in general, I'm very thankful that that happened to me, because I learned a lot about myself, about golf, about the people, about the media, about a lot of things. It was still a very successful, very good thing that I became No. 1 in the world, even though I didn't play great golf after that. Q. Coming back to the tournament, the golf course, the last two years you played, what are your views about the golf course, do you like it, and what would be the key to winning here? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I haven't played this year. I haven't played yet. I will play the Pro‑Am later. But I think the biggest key is this week, I believe, was my caddie personally walked the course yesterday already and he said that the rough is very thick. But, you know, if you come from South Africa from last week, the fairways were very, very tight, so it probably feels very open for me this week. But at the end of the day, it's making the putts. The Top 60 players who are here, everyone can play golf, everybody can strike it well. It's about making those key putts during the round to keep yourself in good position for the weekend and try to finalize it on Sunday. Yeah, I have good memories and I played a good tournament last year, with a little more pressure last year when Graeme was trying to chase me. So overall, I feel good about the golf course. Q. How do you feel coming in? A lot of the attention is obviously on Luke and Rory in terms of The Race to Dubai, but for yourself, how do you feel your Changes are with the way you're playing in terms of winning and coming in No. 1, and also, between Luke and Rory, you were saying Luke deserved it, but you know, I mean, do you think it's a lock here at this point, or do you think Rory still has a chance to catch him and win The Race to Dubai? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I think that's the main reason why he came; it's to win the golf tournament. It is the last tournament of the year, so that's a great thing, that you can put everything you have left, all your energy, you can put into that week, and then I have six weeks off until I tee it up in Abu Dhabi again. So, yeah, obviously I will try to do as good as I can. With Rory and Luke, I think it's exciting. It's almost the same‑‑ almost the same, that we had last year with Graeme and me. But I don't really believe that Luke will have a bad week. The way he played golf the last few months, I don't know if he ever finished outside the Top‑10 this year. So I think it would be very difficult for Rory, but I'm sure he will be aggressive and try to do everything and try to win, and then that puts a little bit of pressure on Luke for the weekend. But we'll see. I think both deserve it, but the way Luke played this year, I think I will be very happy for him. GORDON SIMPSON: Martin, have a good week, thank you very much for coming in. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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