Martin Kaymer believes he has had to wait 12 months for the best perk of his US PGA Championship victory.
The German overcame Bubba Watson in a play-off at Whistling Straits last year to land his first Major, and as he prepares to defend his title in Atlanta revealed his favourite part of reigning champion status.
“The nicest thing about being the defending champion this week is my parking is right next to the clubhouse. When I arrived here on Monday, it was quite convenient,” he joked.
“But it has been a great year. And it was honestly a privilege to be the PGA Champion, especially here. For me as a European it made me proud, and I heard a lot of positive comments from the PGA of America, from Allen, the president of The PGA of America. So it was definitely a good year for me.”
Kaymer went on to add three European Tour titles in the five months following his Major breakthough, which also helped him become European Number One and World Number One.
And he admits his victory in Wisconsin had provided a major confidence boost.
“It gave me a big boost to be a major winner, I think that gives you so much confidence and so much self belief that you have done a lot of things right in the past,” he added. “And to win a major that early in my career was obviously fantastic, that you kind of break through a little bit of a barrier.
“If you win your first tournament, your first major, it's tough to win those events. But once you've won one of those, it gives you the belief that you can win any other tournament in the world. And obviously the recognition has been more and more, especially here in America.
“Golf in Germany has become bigger and bigger, especially me becoming the Number One in the world in March. I think we are in Germany are on a very good way to make golf more popular, not only with Bernhard Langer but now with myself, as well. So all of those things created a little bit more work for me after my win last year. I am the German face of golf now and all of those things changed after my win in Whistling Straits.
"It's a new role that I have to get used to, to be that German golf face. We have created a kind of golf boom in Germany kind of like what happened with Boris Becker and Steffi Graf, what they did with tennis.
"I hope that I can do that. It's something I never really thought about. I was always thinking about my golf, my goals in life. I'm more than happy to accept it, because I always wanted it, to make golf bigger in Germany.
"It's just something that will take some time."
