Martin Kaymer Q&A

What holes in particular are you now more confident in playing as a result of your swing changes?

The 10th hole was always a problem for me in the past. From 2008 until 2011 I was always on the right side of the fairway and I couldn’t get it down into the valley. Now I can get it down the hill and am hitting a 7 or 8-iron into the green, instead of a 4-iron from a downhill lie, which was what I was doing before. That’s the biggest advantage I’ve gained.

What will be your routine for Masters Week?

I will go to Augusta on the Saturday and I’ll play on the weekend and take it easy [in terms of practice rounds] early in the week itself. I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to play the Par 3 Tournament, but if I do it will be with Bernhard [Langer]. It depends on Thursday’s tee times.

Are you the type of player who is comfortable asking other players for advice or do you feel like you alone should work out how to play a course like Augusta?

I think if you don’t ask other players for their help it’s more of an ego thing, an ego problem: you miss out. For me, it’s a great opportunity to ask Langer for his help. He has won there and he can still compete there - he finished eighth last year and he’s now in his 50s. As a player you would miss out on a lot if you didn’t do it.

When you were growing up watching the Masters on TV, which tournaments stand out for you?

That’s a tough one. I always looked forward to watching the Masters and The Open on TV. But the memories I have [long pause] … it would have to be when Tiger [Woods] won in 1997. The way he won, shooting four-over for the first nine holes of the tournament and then winning by a huge margin in the end. Just the dominance - the way he took Augusta apart. That was the biggest memory I have from Augusta as a child.