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WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPENJanuary 30, 2013Martin KaymerSCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA PHIL STAMBAUGH: We welcome Martin Kaymer into the interview room. Second start at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, but you're no stranger to the Scottsdale area. Obviously you have two top 10s in January on the European Tour in the Middle East, so you're playing pretty good. A couple thoughts about this week's tournament. MARTIN KAYMER: It's actually quite nice to stay at my own place, sleep in my own bed, but at the same time it's a little strange. It doesn't really feel like a golf tournament when you come home to your‑‑ yeah, to your own four walls, really. It's a little different. So you really need to stay within yourself and focus on the golf and not get distracted too much from family and friends or something. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Last year you played here for the first time, sort of a unique atmosphere to play in. What were your impressions of that? MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I did play in 2010. Yeah, very different than anywhere else in Europe and any tournament that I played in America before. But it's a really fun atmosphere, and the fans were very fair, and it's nice. You know what you‑‑ you can prepare a little bit. It's different, but I think we should have more events like this, maybe a couple or three events a year, because it's nice for the game of golf, it's good for the fans. I think a lot of kids, they enjoy it, and obviously the adults even more, especially on 16 when they get some drinks and stuff. It's exciting to play. Q. When you have a home game like this and you're staying at home, do you ever find yourself leaving like $2 on the pillow just out of habit? MARTIN KAYMER: For myself? Q. No, for the maid, because you're so used to doing that on the road. MARTIN KAYMER: No. Obviously I've traveled a lot the last few years, and that was one reason I decided to join the PGA TOUR this year and play more over here, especially the next few months, because I didn't want to travel as much. It's quite nice knowing now I'm going to be in America for at least three or four months without going back to Europe and no jet lags and stuff. Q. How many times did you have to cross the Atlantic last season, and how many times will you do it this year? MARTIN KAYMER: This year probably only half the amount I did last year. Q. So eight or ten last year? MARTIN KAYMER: Oh, no, it must have been more. It must have been at least 12, 13 times or so. And then obviously to Asia, as well. Yeah, it was tiring. Q. Do you miss the Concorde? MARTIN KAYMER: Concorde, what does that mean? Q. The supersonic jet. Was that before your time? MARTIN KAYMER: No, I don't miss that. I mean, it's actually quite nice. The last time when I got onto the plane from Qatar to here, it was 16 hours' flight to Houston, and then I felt okay ‑‑ it's just you get over that one and then you're fine for the next few months. But 16 hours on the plane, I tell you, you can have a proper sleep and you still have eight hours to go. Q. Where do you feel your game is right now this part of the season? You've had some good finishes on the European Tour. MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I played very well by the end of last season. I had finally a win last year, as well, in South Africa, and then was practicing very hard here in the wintertime. I couldn't win in Abu Dhabi or Qatar, unfortunately, but I had a couple top 10s, which is fine. And now obviously this is my debut as a PGA TOUR member this week. I think it will be a very exciting year for me. A lot of things will change, like the travel schedule. I'm going to play a few more regular events in America. So it will be a nice season. But I feel very good about my game at the moment. Q. How many events are you playing on the PGA TOUR this year? MARTIN KAYMER: I mean, obviously I have to play at least 15, so I'll probably play a couple more, depending on the FedExCup, how far I get there. Q. Did your Ryder Cup appearance raise your visibility in America? Do people recognize you more since then? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, some like me, some dislike me. It really depends on‑‑ I had some mixed feelings here. A lot of people came up to me and said, 90 percent of the people that came up to me said we're very happy for you, and the other 10 percent, they‑‑ yeah, they didn't even say hi anymore. So it was a little bit shocking. Yeah, the Ryder Cup for me has changed a lot of things, obviously. Something very great happened there. Q. Did more people want to talk to you because they recognized you after the Ryder Cup than say after the PGA at Whistling Straits? MARTIN KAYMER: No, PGA was pretty big. PGA, because I was‑‑ that was 2010, I hadn't played really in America a lot, and win such a big tournament, then you get recognized a lot more. All of a sudden your name is in the media and obviously a lot of things were going on. And the Ryder Cup is more about the team. I just had the pleasure to make the last one. Q. You make your American base here in Scottsdale? MARTIN KAYMER: Uh‑huh. Q. Rather than in Florida like so many other pros. Is there a reason for that? MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I do like the mountains more. I really like to go hiking. When I go hiking in the mornings, it's very calming. I don't know, it's a beautiful place. I found a very good golf course where I can practice, Whisper Rock. It's just up the road. And I think for me, I like the air better, it's not as humid. Even though it's a little bit further away from Germany, I don't really mind that. Once I'm on the plane, I can go another few hours. Q. So you're going to maintain both memberships, both European and here? MARTIN KAYMER: This year, yes, I do. Q. But not travel as much to as many European events? MARTIN KAYMER: No, Europe I don't have to play as many tournaments as I have to play in America. In Europe I have to play only 12, so that allows me to stay longer here. Q. So does it really mitigate the exhausting travel all that much? MARTIN KAYMER: Mitigate means? Q. Reduce it? MARTIN KAYMER: Yes. I mean, I was very tired last year already in September, October especially because of the Ryder Cup. I played a lot of tournaments before the Ryder Cup to get into it, and I just decided I need to play less. I'm not that old yet. I hope I can play another 20 years. I don't want to do that every year. Q. It's amazing that you feel worn down. MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, especially if you have only one or two weeks off, sometimes it's just not enough. Physically maybe, but mentally it's not enough. So therefore I just thought I need to stay more in one place where I can come down and focus on the next tournament again. Q. How many tournaments did you play on both sides last year? MARTIN KAYMER: 30 or 32 tournaments. But the amount is not that bad. If I would stay only in America and play 30 tournaments, fine, but if you go to Asia, to America, to Europe, and then to South Africa, that's just‑‑ it can be the killer. Q. Do you have a plan on not only how to play the 16th hole but how to deal with the crowd there? MARTIN KAYMER: No. There's nothing‑‑ I mean, I'm here to play good golf and obviously enjoy the atmosphere, but I don't really prepare what I should do there on 16. I hope I hit a good golf shot and the people like me for the way I play golf. That's it pretty much. Q. A lot of guys take hats or shirts or throw stuff, kind of keep them happy so they‑‑ MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I'm a guest. I'm a guest in America. It's my first year as a season here, so I try to keep it low for the first year. Q. Give away something, they'll be very happy. Wave the German flag. MARTIN KAYMER: Or the European flag from the Ryder Cup. Q. How difficult is it to be present through that tee shot with all that ruckus going at 16? MARTIN KAYMER: It's great. I really hope that they are not quiet when we hit because that is the worst. When there's so much going on, then all of a sudden you're standing on the tee, and then, boom, dead quiet, you don't want that. You'd rather have a little bit of action. You could see at the Ryder Cup when Bubba and Ian Poulter hit their tee shots and they made the crowd actually go loud, so that is a lot easier, especially in situations like this. Obviously we're not playing the Ryder Cup this week and the pressure is not as much on the 16th hole as it was at Medinah, but still, if it's dead quiet it's a little bit weird. So I hope they keep the noise up. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Martin, good luck this week. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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