Martin Kaymer admits he will need to deal with the pressure of being the home favourite if he is to win the BMW International Open for a second time in Munich this week.
The 28 year old triumphed at Golfclub München Eichenried in 2008, but the former US PGA Championship winner’s subsequent rise to becoming German golf’s poster boy has led to increased scrutiny of his performances on home soil.
“The last few years, we have
only BMW
as a sponsor for The European Tour [in Germany] and obviously for me it's very nice to come home,” said The Ryder Cup star. “We don't really have the chance to sleep in your own bed very often.
“But also, it's a little bit more pressure; the expectations from people, the expectations
from
yourself. You put a little bit more pressure on yourself, but it's a fine line to find the combination of using the support from the fans and the spectators, and your will, you put it all together and try to get a good result.
“This week I organized things a little bit differently and I have a little bit more time for myself.
“Everybody was satisfied with the way things went and now we can focus on golf. I just
played the Pro
Am, I will practice a little bit later, go home, chill, and hopefully shoot a good round tomorrow.”
Kaymer was one of many players to endure a testing time at Merion last week for the US Open Championship; eventually finishing tied for 59th
on
19 under par.
The World Number 35 admits it will be difficult to get back into the routine of making birdies, but was able to draw a positive from his Medinah
team-mate
Justin Rose’s victory.
“It's very tough, when you come from the US Open, if you tell me how my game is, you shot 19 over par, I can't tell you I
'm playing
well - it sounds stupid,” Kaymer continued.
“But I'm not playing bad. It's just one of those weeks when you come from the US Open, you don't really know what you're going to get the next week, so today was fine. I played fairly well and the golf course, I do enjoy it, I had success here.
“So I'm looking forward to the whole week. It's a different week than the last few years for me, so I hope I can enjoy it more.
“US Open, you just try to hold on, pretty much from Thursday morning, until Sunday afternoon, and here is a little bit chasing.
“I was so happy for him [Rose], because I know how hard he worked the last couple years.
“We had dinner with his caddie, I think five-six months ago or so, and he was so motivated. He was so motivated and he was so into it, and he wanted almost to win more than a player I thought.
“And to see Justin, winning a Major, I didn't know how many years ago it is that an English guy won a Major but it must have been almost 20 years; and now Justin got it done, in combination with his caddie, how much they put into it. I was very, very happy for him. It was nice to see.”
Another player battling the narrow set-up at Merion last week was Kaymer’s American Ryder Cup opponent Dustin Johnson, who finished two shots better than Kaymer as he continues to recover from the back injury that his disrupted a season that started with victory at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
“Obviously coming off the US Open, I struggled a little bit there but feel really good coming into this week,” said Johnson. “I had a good day today, hit the ball really well. The course is in fantastic shape and it's playing a little easier than the US Open was.
“I like coming here, Munich is a great city, people are very friendly. I enjoy hanging out in the city after the golf rounds. Obviously BMW does a great job here with this golf tournament - I'm happy to be here.”
