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THE RYDER CUP

September 29, 2010

Martin Kaymer

NEWPORT, WALES

GORDON SIMPSON: Well, it's very nice to welcome Martin. Two years ago, when he went to Valhalla, he wasn't the US PGA champion and he wasn't a Ryder Cup player, and now he's both. It's been a very eventful two years for you, Martin. What's your feeling now that you're in the team as a real team member, instead of just tagging along at the end?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, two years ago, it was nice for me to be there and to make the experience that I played there. But yeah, to be here this year and to play The Ryder Cup finally, and to be part of it, I think is not only that you play for your continent; it's like I play for my country, Germany.
So I can't wait to stand there tomorrow at the Opening Ceremony and you hear the National Anthem of your country. I think that's very special. That's for me a big honour.
GORDON SIMPSON: I can sense a real sense of pride and satisfaction that you've reached this stage.
MARTIN KAYMER: It's a pride, yeah. You are very proud to be here. All of the years that you practised, all of the hard work that you put into it, and finally, it paid off, and you can be here and play.

Q. Do you think that team competition such as The Presidents Cup for Americans and the Seve Trophy for the Europeans has changed the way people look on rookies in their first Ryder Cup?
MARTIN KAYMER: Again, that question?

Q. Do you think it's different for rookies now in The Ryder Cup as it was, say, 20 years ago, because of The Presidents Cup and the Seve Trophy?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, for me, I didn't play for the Seve Trophy or The Presidents Cup, so I don't know.
But I think for every rookie, it's something special, for sure. But I think we can -- hopefully we will play more Ryder Cups in the future to develop or to get more passionate about their Ryder Cup.
Of course, you can't wait to play, and there is some passion, but if you have some role models like Ballesteros, for example, or OlazÃ¡bal, those guys, they were living The Ryder Cup. The thing, as a rookie, you cannot really have that. Maybe in two years or four years or six years, I think you develop something like that.

Q. How will the experience from last time help you this time?
MARTIN KAYMER: It helped me already is this week, the experience that I made two years ago.
When I came here, I know what I can expect. I know that it will be a lot of media. A lot of things are planned. Everything is very organised. There is not a lot of time for yourself that you can sit down and relax and think about a few things. There's not a lot of time to do that. So those things, just the organisation things, they helped me already.
Playing-wise, of course, I don't know, it's my first Ryder Cup, so I don't know how it feels on Friday morning. But the things that happened on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, they helped me already.

Q. Just on a lighter note for a moment, you're a big friend of Rory McIlroy's, was it your idea to dawn the Rory wigs this morning, and did you have one on?
MARTIN KAYMER: No, that was Mr. Montgomerie. Yesterday he told us that we four will play together. And so Luke and me, we are playing against Rory and Graeme, and yeah, we had a little competition.

Q. And the wigs, whose idea was that?
MARTIN KAYMER: I don't know. I don't know. My caddie came up to me in the locker room and said, "We are going to have a surprise today."
And I said, "Is it for me or not?"
He said, "No, no, don't worry. We don't embarrass you." I said okay. And then on the putting green, before we went to the first tee, he pulled out that, how do you call in English, a wig?
GORDON SIMPSON: A wig.
MARTIN KAYMER: He pulled it out and then we just -- everybody put it on, and we made the tee shot with it.
He's the youngest, you know, and I think he was very happy about it, too.

Q. Even though you are a rookie, you are Major Champion, so do you feel the expectations on you this week are higher than they would be if you obviously were not a major champion?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yes, I think so. Myself, I expect to play well this week, to win matches.
I think from other people, yeah, of course, there will be -- the expectations are high. If I would not have won the PGA, if I would have lost in the playoff, I don't think it would have changed anything. Yeah, I mean, of course the expectations are high if you did something outstanding recently. But I just see it as a very positive thing. Without that win, or let's say through that win, the other players, they have more respect, as well, the Americans. So that can help me, too.

Q. Just wanted to ask about Rhys Davies, obviously a Welshman who has come on to the team as a 13th man like you were two years ago. Will you be giving him advice, helping him out, as well as doing your own preparation?
MARTIN KAYMER: It's funny, I haven't had the chance to talk to him yet. I've seen him in the team room, but we haven't had the chance to talk to each other.
He's smart enough, I don't need to give him any advice of what I learned two years ago. He will probably try to get as much out of it as possible, and I'm sure it will give him more motivation and inspiration to practise more, to put more into golf, because that is what it did to me two years ago. I'm sure he will play The Ryder Cup one day for sure.

Q. Just a secondary question, obviously he doesn't know what his role is; that's what he told us a couple of days ago. What can he expect?
MARTIN KAYMER: I think he's here to enjoy The Ryder Cup. He doesn't have to do anything. He has no responsibilities. He's just here to make the experience, to see the atmosphere, to see, yeah, the thing about The Ryder Cup. That is at least what Nick Faldo told me two years ago; that I should just enjoy being at one of the biggest sports events in the world, and I can just hope that he can enjoy those moments, especially when we play on Friday, and of course, on Sunday, when we will hopefully win the trophy.

Q. Did your winning a major championship have any noticeable effect in Germany? And how much attention do Germans pay to golf in The Ryder Cup?
MARTIN KAYMER: Obviously we are trying to get the Ryder Cup in 2018 to Germany. So I think my win, my major win came at the right time to support The Ryder Cup in Germany more, even more; that golf becomes bigger in Germany. I think through the win, yes, there was more media. Golf became a little bit bigger in Germany already. People know about it a little bit more now.
So that's why it is even more important for me to win The Ryder Cup this week; to be the second German to win The Ryder Cup and to make golf more popular in Germany, and then we will have a good chance to get the Ryder Cup in eight years.

Q. What did you make of Gareth Edwards' talk last night, a very, very well known sporting figure in this country? How much of it got across to you, firstly; and secondly, which team in the quiz were you in?
MARTIN KAYMER: Sergio's.

Q. The Galacticos?
MARTIN KAYMER: The Galacticos.

Q. And was it a fair finish?
MARTIN KAYMER: We were all-square with Thomas BjÃ¶rn's group and then we lost in the final question, in our playoff.

Q. Which was?
MARTIN KAYMER: Final question -- I can't remember what the final question was.
That's why we lost probably. (Laughter) Yeah, but his speech yesterday, we had a phone call from Ballesteros before, and to listen to his speech, and to Gareth's speech, I think they are very, very important, if you really listen, and if you try to get as much out of it for yourself as possible. Because those are not only athletes; they are legends. And first of all, I think for me, it's a great pleasure, first of all, to be part of that, to be in one room with them, to be able to talk to them and to listen to them.
So just that they are there and they are keeping us company, that gives you motivation already. And to hear them talk, the passion they have for their sport and the victory they want to win, it doesn't matter how; they are going to get it done somehow. This is just very -- it's just amazing to hear that from big athletes.
GORDON SIMPSON: Martin, I'm afraid your captain is coming in. Thank you very much for coming in and have a great week.

End of FastScripts

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