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ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPJanuary 25, 2012Martin KaymerABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SCOTT CROCKETT: Martin, thanks, as always, for coming in and joining us. I suppose we could say welcome to the Martin Kaymer Golf Championship, it's been like that for the last three or four years. You've got a remarkable record. Tell us why that is. MARTIN KAYMER: It's a combination of a lot of things. Obviously I really like the golf course. That is the main thing why I play very well here. But also, if you have not played golf or tournament golf for so long, you are so motivated to play again, and you can't wait to play another round of golf, and that actually counts properly. But it's the golf tournament, the whole organisation, the hotel where we are saying, when I come to the clubhouse, the people welcome me, saying welcome home; a lot of things, they make me feel very comfortable here. SCOTT CROCKETT: Did you have a restful Christmas period, and do you feel you are ready to go for 2012? MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I'm ready. I'm very looking forward to playing again. But I didn't really have a long break because I was in Scottsdale all winter and the weather was like this. So I played a lot of golf again. I didn't really have a long break of golf, and I didn't really put the clubs away, maybe for five or six days. We'll see how that turns out. But I feel confident. SCOTT CROCKETT: You played nine holes yesterday; how is the course looking? MARTIN KAYMER: I played the back nine. They made a few changes. I think the 15th hole, the par3, they extended the green a little bit. On 18, they added a bunker on the right side from the tee shot. But besides that, they have not changed a lot but the rough is very thick. I think thicker than the last few years and they have different cuts, I believe, around the greens, one extra cut. So I think it plays a little bit more difficult, but we will see. I will play 18 this afternoon and I can say more. SCOTT CROCKETT: And an entertaining draw obviously, alongside Lee and Sergio. Looking forward to that? MARTIN KAYMER: Absolutely. I get along with both of them. Lee and me, we played The Ryder Cup together. That was a brilliant, brilliant time. Sergio is always fun to watch, fun to play with, very outgoing person. So we get along well. And I think it will be a couple of nice days to play with them. Q. Just seen the photos of you and Luke last night out in the desert in the biggest bunker in the world. Wonder if you can talk about that experience, it looked quite incredible? MARTIN KAYMER: I can compare it to Dubai because I was in Dubai in the desert once. It was two years ago, BMW and me, we were driving around there and it was quite an experience. Yesterday, it looked similar, but I have to say, the desert here in Abu Dhabi is more beautiful. There's more red. It's a little bit more reddish in the sand and it was an amazing setting. Luke and me, we hit a few golf shots and I got some statements on Facebook already that we are never getting enough from golf; that we even have to go somewhere 45 minutes even to the desert. So it has been a good thing yesterday. Q. Just maybe your year last year, obviously you started strong here and you had some struggles. As you look ahead this year, what do you want to improve upon? You didn't have much of a break, but do you feel you've been able to do some things the last couple of weeks to kind of help your game? MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I don't know if you have seen it, but I have changed my schedule a little bit. I'm playing more in blocks this year, like three, four weeks in a row, and then I have three or four weeks off. So I will try to focus more on playing, more on winning; more on playing well, let's say, the big events, the Majors and the World Golf Championships events. My schedule of preparation will change a little bit towards the Masters. I might go there a little bit earlier this year. And obviously, I want to be prepared better for the tournaments, and that's why I need the three or four weeks off before big tournaments and that's why I changed a few things. Q. Along those lines, can you talk about your decision not to join the PGA Tour? It sounds like this block theory is the reason why, but I would just like to get your thoughts. MARTIN KAYMER: The thing is, I put both schedules next to each other in October, November last year, and then I was trying to figure out‑‑ because I really wanted to play on the PGA Tour this year. I tried to figure out a way where I can play on both tours without being too tired by September, October. We play those three events here in the Middle East. They have always been very good for me. I think in order to have a relaxed and still comfortable schedule for me, I should have started in America by January, February. But it would have been too early and it would have been too much golf with the 15 events on the PGA Tour. I would love to play more in America. I hope that Tim Finchem drops the No. 1 day; that we play only‑‑ that we only have to play 12 or 13 events, because I think that would do the job a little bit easier for us Europeans. Q. What's the attraction of Arizona? You could, for example, come down here and presumably practise just as easily without having to go so far and without such a big time change. Why did you choose to go to Arizona? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, in the wintertime, that is the place where I went the last five years. That's where I feel very comfortable. I don't want to say it's my home, but it feels very calm for me there. I have a lot of friends there. It's a very happy place for me, the golf course where I practise, Whisper Rock. They are brilliant people on the range, you go on the range and Phil Mickelson is there, we play a few times together; and Gary McCord is there, who is always hilarious to be around. It's a fun place and makes me happy and prepares me for the season. That is where I get a lot of energy. Q. Apart from golf, what other activities are you planning to do over here in Abu Dhabi? Are you planning to visit any attractions in the city? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I mean, the helicopter ride was a little nerve‑wracking for me yesterday. So I might skip all of the other activities. It's not a thing that I like to do every day. So that's one thing that we did yesterday. But to be honest, this is a very important tournament for me, and they are two big tournaments coming up. So I try to focus on the main thing, and that is try to win the tournament here. And when I am not playing any tournaments, then I do other stuff. Q. You mentioned the Masters a few moments ago. When you go to Augusta this year, will you go there and intend to take your normal game or will you change things again? MARTIN KAYMER: I think it's a little bit of a mistake, what I did the last couple of years; that I was trying to play different golf, which is not my golf. You know, the end of the day, you have to stick to your skills, to your strength, and that is what I will do this year. I might go there a little bit earlier to prepare better and I will try to play my golf and not the golf that the golf course requires maybe. Q. Maybe you can talk about your game, how is it, and how confident are you coming into the season? MARTIN KAYMER: It is a little bit tough to say after having a break for so long. But I practised a lot in the wintertime. I feel recharged again, because last year was a very tiring season because of all what happened. I feel good about it. I worked hard, and I look forward to those three events, and then leading up to the Masters. But so far, I have no doubt why I shouldn't play good golf. Q. What was alarming about this helicopter ride? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, you should have seen my hands. They were a little wet. It was kind of like a workout for me, because the whole flight for 45 minutes, it was a little intense. I was‑‑ let's put it this way; I was happy when we arrived. Q. Had you not been in one of these things before? MARTIN KAYMER: I've been in one of those before, once, and it was even smaller. But it was very calm. It was not a lot of wind. Yesterday, we had a lot of wind. I mean, the pilot did a good job, but still, I wouldn't mind to skip that next time. (Laughter). Q. Does having Tiger here this week change the dynamic of the tournament for you a little bit? Does it even relieve a little of the pressure or focus that might have been on you this week? MARTIN KAYMER: I think there's less focus on me now. You know, I'm not playing in that, let's say, in that group tomorrow, if you want to call it like the best group of tomorrow to watch or the most entertaining. I know that people will want see Tiger, No. 1 in the world, and Rory McIlroy, so that's a great group to watch. And I think Westwood, Sergio and me, we are a little bit under the radar, which is fine with me. But it always adds a little bit if Tiger Woods is here. You can see when he came on the putting green earlier, there are more people all of a sudden around you, and he has a very special aura. It's always nice to play tournaments where he's playing, because, you know, you always‑‑ it adds a little bit of everything, and it will help you in the future if you look at it, try to figure out what it is really, and why he created that awe for people, and it's good for the tournament and I'm very happy he came over here. Q. Talking about combining two schedules, how impressed were you of what Luke Donald achieved last year and indeed, how much in awe are you? MARTIN KAYMER: I think the last two years, the way Luke played was amazing. I struggle to understand or to believe how good he really played. Every time he teed off, he finished Top‑10 or he won. That is what a No. 1 in the world player does to be a No. 1 player. He's consistent; if he tees it up, he has a good chance to win, he never really failed last year. It was a little unfortunate that he didn't win the FedExCup last year, even though I think he was the person who deserved it the most. So it is tough to stay No. 1 in the world, and you know, if you go back to Tiger Woods, how long he stayed up there, is quite impressive. You have to be always on top. People always expect you to win, and that is what Tiger did for a lot of years, and that is what Luke Donald did last year. Q. Have you worked out a secret? Have you managed to find anything looking at him and his game and his schedule that might sort of help you? MARTIN KAYMER: Who is that, Tiger or Luke? Q. Luke, and what he's achieved over the last two years, considering how tired you said you were trying to play through a full season. What's his secret, do you think? MARTIN KAYMER: His secret is that he makes more putts. (Laughter) I think last, I believe it was in the wintertime, where he was working a lot on his short game. Because last year, when he came out and started off in America with his win at the Match Play, when I played against him, I realise his short game was really good, but then it showed months after that that it was not only really good, it was amazing, and I think that was one big part of why he has been so successful. I think schedule‑wise, he played a lot of tournaments. But if you gain all that confidence from playing so well every week, you know, why should you stop. So that is the same thing what happened to me in 2010 when I won two, three tournaments in a row. You just want to play more. You want to win more. You want to show yourself, when is the end; when is your energy level empty. Q. Being the champion of Abu Dhabi and a well known figure right now, do you have any advice to young Emiratis trying to develop themselves in golf? MARTIN KAYMER: I think in general, not only people in here, I think that was the main or the biggest‑‑ I'd say the most important thing that I did at the beginning when I came out on Tour; that I didn't make a lot of big decisions straightaway. I was focusing on the main thing, why I was playing golf, and what I wanted. You know, for me, it was not that important to have a management straightaway, to have a sponsor straightaway. I was focusing on the main thing, and then everything came from itself. I think that is what advice I can give to rookies or young amateurs who want to become professional; to stick to the main goal, and that is to let the clubs talk and not anyone else. SCOTT CROCKETT: Martin, thanks, as always for your time. Good luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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