New-found fame surprised Kaymer

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August 12, 2011

Martin Kaymer this week admitted for the first time that it took some time to adjust to being the owner of a major.

World number three Martin Kaymer this week admitted for the first time that it took some time to adjust to being the owner of a major after he won the 2010 PGA Championship in a play-off with Bubba Watson 12 months ago.

That win made him the face of golf in his homeland, a role last held by two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer a generation ago, and the fame took him by surprise.

“I was amazed at just how famous I became, especially in my own country, and I have to tell you it is a thing that you need to get used to,” Kaymer said.

“At the beginning, it’s a lot it take in and a lot to handle, but after a while, if you talk to people who have been in that situation before; to other celebrities or other athletes; it’s a little bit easier to act the right way.”

Kaymer spoke with some footballers, who still ring him seeking golf advice, and to his manager, who had once worked with world heavyweight boxing champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, the German-based Ukrainian superstars.

“I didn’t talk to Bernhard (Langer) about it because obviously when he was very successful when he won the majors in the ’80s, golf was not as big in Germany as it is now,” Kaymer added.

“It was a new role that I had to get used to, to be that German golf face. We created kind of like a golf boom in Germany; kind of like what happened with Boris Becker and Steffi Graf, in 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.”

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