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ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPJanuary 21, 2011Martin KaymerABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SCOTT CROCKETT: All right, Martin, many thanks, as always, for coming in and joining us. A great day's performance out there. Your last tournament win was at the Alfred Dunhill Links. I don't suppose you thought you would be playing in the same weather in the desert, but you seem to be coping pretty well with it. MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I think I had a very good day. Yesterday I thought I had a good day already, but today I made early birdies. On the first nine, I was 5-under par, and it also gave me the hope and the belief that I can play well again. I was expecting myself to shoot 5-under after nine holes but it was getting more difficult. But obviously leading by three is a good start. SCOTT CROCKETT: Anything particularly good today? I think said your putting was very good. MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, my putting. My ball-striking was okay. I missed a few drives way left on 8 twice, way right on 10. So it was spraying a little bit, but my putting always was consistent and good. SCOTT CROCKETT: We spoke before the tournament started about how much you love it here and how much the course suits you. Is this just an example of that? MARTIN KAYMER: Of course, if your short game is sharp, you can get a little bit more confidence than usual. You know if you miss a fairway, if you miss a green that you have a good chance to make the up-and-down. And I know that I have played well here, even though I haven't played great golf or the swing didn't feel great, and I always play okay here. SCOTT CROCKETT: Can you give us the details of your birdies before we move to questions? MARTIN KAYMER: I birdied the first. I hit a gap wedge to maybe three or four metres and made that putt there. 3, same, gap wedge to three metres. 5, felt a little bit like eagle because it was a difficult hole. I hit 4-iron in the green and made that putt from six metres. Next hole, I hit a 9-iron to the green and made that putt from five, six metres. The par 3, I hit a 5-iron to about 1 1/2 metres. 12, I hit it to two metres with a 7-iron. And then 14, I hit a 6-iron and made that putt from ten metres maybe. So obviously putting was good. Q. How different does the course play today? MARTIN KAYMER: I mean, for me, if I played yesterday morning, so it was -- I felt the same, in the morning, or the first part of the round, it was pretty calm and then it the afternoon got a little bit more windy. Obviously we were not expecting the rain here in Abu Dhabi, but the golf course is playing pretty much the same, maybe a little bit longer than yesterday. But the changes they did on the golf course, I think the bunkers, they are great and in good positions. The new tee boxes I think at the par 5s, I think it's not necessary. There were difficult par 5s already. If you got on the fairway, you had the chance to go for the green. If you are miss the fairway, you have to lay it up. And now, even if you hit the fairway, it's tough to get home in two. But it felt similar to yesterday. Q. You've proved already on this course that you can lead from the front and convert it into a victory. Are you starting to think that way already halfway through this tournament? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, you know, I just try to have fun and enjoy the moment again. I just really enjoy being in the lead and the other guys chasing me. I'm trying to get away from them a little bit. I just really enjoy those situations. So far, I handled it well when I played here in Abu Dhabi, and, well, that's the biggest challenge the next two days, and I think if I play the same way, today and yesterday, I think will be fine. Q. This tournament compares, for you, more with 2008 than 2010, I would suggest at this stage. MARTIN KAYMER: More than 2010. 2008, I was very nervous going into the last round. I didn't really have the experience of winning tournaments, but now through my wins from last year, especially playing The Ryder Cup, that gives you the belief that you can win any tournament you enter and obviously if I put myself in a position now, leading by three shots, he can only lose the tournament now if I don't win on Sunday. Q. Why don't you look more bedraggled having come in after nine holes in the rain. MARTIN KAYMER: Bedraggled? SCOTT CROCKETT: Wet. Q. Wet and -- SCOTT CROCKETT: Why don't you look more wet? Q. -- dripping? MARTIN KAYMER: I don't understand. Q. Untidy. SCOTT CROCKETT: You look very dry for having played in the rain, I think is what Lewine is trying to say. MARTIN KAYMER: Oh, I don't know. SCOTT CROCKETT: Poorly. MARTIN KAYMER: I don't know, the HUGO BOSS rain gear. (Laughter). SCOTT CROCKETT: Are you planted for that question? HUGO BOSS deal? Just checking. MARTIN KAYMER: I can get you rain gear if you want to. Q. Can you tell us when you found out about your playing partner's disqualification when you've seen it and your thoughts? MARTIN KAYMER: I've heard about it, my brother, he called me in the morning and he said, "Have you heard that you'll play probably without Pádraig." I said no, he said, well, listened to the radio, and he said that he marked the ball and then he touched it -- he marked his ball on the 7th green and the ball was moving or something but he's in the TV truck now trying to get everything sorted. I mean, he played fantastic golf, and I think that little mistake that he did it was very unfortunate. It's borderline obviously. But Louis and me, when we saw it on TV when we had lunch before we played, of course you feel sorry, he played a fantastic round. He had a chance to win the tournament, even though it was only the first round, but he played great golf and you can see that he will have a chance on Sunday. Pádraig is one of the fairest persons on Tour I think. You can see his patch on his arm with the R&A. So I cannot believe that he did anything on purpose or something. He's one of the fairest players on Tour. Q. You said you felt quite a distance of being world No. 1 despite what the rankings suggest. If you do climb above Tiger Woods to world No. 2, will your immediate goals change and will that go right up there with winning The Race to Dubai? MARTIN KAYMER: If what changes? Q. If you leap above Tiger to the No. 2 in the world, I think -- MARTIN KAYMER: I can't hear you. SCOTT CROCKETT: For a radio man, you're not very good with a microphone. Closer to the mic. There you go. Q. If you climb up the rankings above Tiger to the world No. 2, despite what you said in Dubai about feeling quite a way off the world No. 1 will your immediate goals change this year? MARTIN KAYMER: No, I don't think so. I mean, if I get really close to Lee, I think, yeah, of course. I want to catch him. But it's just, I think every tournament I will play this year, at least at the beginning of the season, you know, you will have those numbers. If you finish here and there, you can get up to No. 2, or you can be No. 1 in the world. I think I will have that next few weeks and next few tournaments I will play. And of course, if I get up to No. 2, I want to get up to No. 1. But it's not my biggest goal for this year. Q. Sorry if this is an obvious question, but had you noticed anything on the 7th green, anything slightly wrong with the way Pádraig picked up his marker? MARTIN KAYMER: I don't even know which one it was, the first or the second one. Q. What do you think of the idea of TV viewers phoning in after a round and reporting on infringement like that so that a player having signed his card is going to be disqualified; do you think that's fair? MARTIN KAYMER: Well, yeah, of course it's fair. You know, if you make a mistake, then you should get penalised, but I don't think that Pádraig didn't even think about it or that he even noticed. About the TV viewers, I think it happened to Charl Schwartzel as well in South Africa recently and I think to Louis, as well. If you make a mistake, you should get penalised, but you know, those things, can you not say that Pádraig did it on purpose or anything. It was just -- what I said, I don't think he even noticed it. It would be nice to just talk to him, how he feels about it. Q. You've done well in Abu Dhabi over the years, come rain or shine. What is it about this place that inspires you? I guess it's not the weather? MARTIN KAYMER: Not today. But in general, I just feel comfortable coming here to the golf course. Flying into Abu Dhabi, knowing that you can sleep in the Emirates Palace makes me happy. It's always a warm welcome when I come to the clubhouse here. I know the guys from the locker room, they are always nice and do whatever we need. Yeah, it's just a golf course where I was successful and where I know I can win, and that makes me play well I guess. SCOTT CROCKETT: Martin, thanks, as always. Good luck the weekend. End of FastScripts |
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