QUICKEN LOANS NATIONAL

June 25, 2014

Ernie Els

MARK STEVENS: Like to welcome Ernie Els to the Quicken Loans National. You're going to be making your first start in Tiger's event, the Quicken Loans National, but you won here in 1997 at the U.S. Open. If you kind of want to talk about your thoughts coming back here to play, and your thoughts on the week and then we'll have some questions.

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I'm really excited to be back at Congressional. Obviously, as you said, '97 was a very, very special year. It's almost 20 years ago now, but it remains in the memory. I've played some other TOUR events here sponsored by different sponsors than Quicken Loans, but just this time of the year, we normally go to Europe and get ready for The Open Championship. So I've missed the last five or six, seven years, whenever it was. I haven't played here. But decided to play this year, and really excited to play, obviously with the Tiger Woods Foundation involved and Tiger doing so much for his foundation. All the proceeds from this event goes into that foundation, and that's really exciting. Yeah, and Congressional, the course itself, I love the golf courses up here in the northeast, it's old, traditional golf courses. And being here at Congressional Golf Club where I've been made as an honorary member, just everything is very nice, so I just have to play some decent golf this week.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about last night and being at the White House, what that was like for you, and the Oval Office?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, that was really special. I mean, like I say, that's probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience, especially coming from South Africa. So to meet the President and the Vice President and Speaker of the House, Mr. Boehner, and some of the people working at the White House, it was just so special. I've seen movies and television shows and so forth, and I must say, they do quite a good job because it's quite authentic the way it looks on television, and to see the real thing was quite amazing. People could not have been nicer. Only the players were allowed to go to the Oval Office. We walked around there and Phil Mickelson asked if he could have an apple, so the president lost about 20 apples out of his jar (laughter). We walked around the Oval Office eating apples and just feeling it. It was just wonderful. My daughter same with me, Samantha, and obviously she being 15 and going through school; so it was an amazing experience for everybody.

Q. 1997 was obviously a high for you here but I think the last time you were here was 2011 when you missed the cut. Has that been on your mind this weekend?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I was very disappointed in my play that time. That was the first time back after the '97 U.S. Open. So not playing well at that U.S. Open really hurt a lot because of my memories here and so forth. I was just going through a very bad spell then in 2011, I think overall, that was probably my worst year on TOUR ever. I had a lot of problems that year and unfortunately that year, the U.S. Open was played here. So I'd like to make up for that, and obviously want to have a good week here this week.

Q. What did you learn from that year when it was your worst year on TOUR?
ERNIE ELS: Well, I was dabbling with the putter. I was really having some problems on the greens, so I went to the belly putter and I was very uncomfortable with it. So you don't want to be playing a U.S. Open being uncomfortable on the greens because the greens are some of the most severe with the speed and the firmness of the greens. So I was very uncomfortable on the greens. I missed the cut by one shot in the end, but still, you don't want to play for a cut. You want to try and compete. And I saw the course yesterday. Played nine holes yesterday before we went and got ready for the White House visit and I thought the course was in great shape. So I'm coming in as a different, let's say, person this week than I was in 2011, so I feel I've got a better chance.

Q. Tiger comes in here, he hosts this tournament and he has his foundation, his charities, and everything that he sets up centered around this event and a couple others. You've got courses you've designed and you've got your charities. You look at Arnold Palmer and some of the other guys that have gone on to that ambassador role; is that the logical step when their playing career has moved onto another phase? Does it become difficult to find something else to focus on or how do you find a balance as players move onto a later stage of their career what they take up their time with?
ERNIE ELS: Obviously in many cases, family becomes a real priority as you move closer to 40 and into your 40s. Your kids get older and their priorities change. I've got a 15-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son, and you know, you need to spend a bit of time there. Business has changed, also. I'm into wine and golf course design and stuff like that. So you know, it's stuff that you're involved with and you take seriously because it's businesses. But at the end of the day, if you ask Phil and Tiger and myself and Vijay, the guys that are getting in their 40s now, golf is still a passion for us. You might not spend as much time on the practice tees, but your time that you spend is really focused time. Golf is still very much a No. 1 priority in my life, and I'm sure the same with Tiger. Foundations and giving back I think is a natural progression. Depends on where your interests lies. Obviously with us in South Africa, I could see some real talent that was not seen worldwide because of funds. It's really tough to move out of South Africa with the exchange rate and play internationally. So I started giving back to junior golf. Got a foundation there. And then obviously our son with autism, we did that. So those are things that really interested me, and it goes from player to player. I think the older you get, the more you see where you can help.

Q. I'm just curious, do you come to a point in your career where you realize that you have to dial down the practice and listen to your body and don't push as much as you did when you kind of were young and invincible?
ERNIE ELS: Absolutely. You know, the longer you play, the higher your risk is of injury. You know, I've never really been a gym rat like some of the other guys, but in recent times, I've taken it a bit more serious and taken a little bit better care of my body, and that's really helped. You know, you have to turn -- if you can't turn, you're not going to be able to hit the ball a long way, so flexibility is huge. Strength, you've got to put that back in there to try and keep up with the younger guys. And then with your feel and your chipping, there's so many tangibles in golf that you've got to keep it at a high level. Otherwise, you fall behind. So health is No. 1. And the healthier you can be, the longer you can be out here. But it really plays on your mind.

Q. Segueing off of that, Tiger is back this week and just wanted some thoughts on how important it is to the game, to the sport to have a healthy Tiger for the first time in maybe a year or two? And sort of how you balance that, when to come back, when not, from your own experience.
ERNIE ELS: It's so good for the game of golf to have Tiger back. I hear through the course that he feels like he's really healthy, and that's really a positive. You know, he's chasing history. He's in a position unlike any other player currently playing the sport that he can change history, so that's really important for him and for the game of golf going forward. It's going to be really interesting. It's going to be an exciting time for himself and for the fans to see what he can do. And then we've got some great young players coming through, winning big events now, Martin Kaymer, Rickie Fowler, Keegan, Justin Rose; the list goes on and on, guys who have won major championships and really exciting players. You've got a guy that's reaching almost 40 who is probably the best player -- well, the best player of his generation, trying to become the best player of all time. So it's really exciting times.

Q. Tiger talked about how he can't play the same way he used to because there's this influx of younger guys who are bigger, taller, stronger, and so he's developed new parts of his game. Are you kind of in the same position?
ERNIE ELS: Well, I don't think there's many guys stronger than Tiger Woods (laughter). I think physically he's a specimen. His body has taken a bit of toll obviously on his joints and his back and so on. But there's not a stronger guy out here. It's just, you know, other guys are maybe a bit more flexible or just younger. When you're younger, you swing without any fear. You've never had a back issue or a wrist issue or a knee issue. So you just go flat out. When you've had those kind of injuries, you swing a little differently but your mind is still your mind; your mind stays strong. I think Tiger's swing has changed through the years but he's changed it because of his body. But he's got the strongest mind out here. So I think with that in mind, I think he's got a real good chance of still breaking Jack Nicklaus's record.

Q. Even just with age, how have you adjusted your game?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I've adjusted my game. I had a knee surgery in 2005. I blew out the whole knee. I had two operations on it. I've had to change my swing a little bit. Definitely not going into my left side like I used to when I was younger. I'm kind of coming out of my left side a little bit. But I've adjusted a lot of other things in my swing for that different move. You know, we are professionals and we can adapt. We adapt to different conditions so we can adapt to our body, also. When you have a bit of hand/eye coordination, you can kind of do that. So a lot of guys do that out here.

Q. You've been partnered with Jordan Spieth a couple of times in the WGC events; what are your impressions of his game so far?
ERNIE ELS: Like everybody, really impressed and quite blown away by what he's done. Last year he didn't have a card. He took a chance of playing, sponsor's exemptions and so on, and got his card and then eventually winning a tournament, contending each and every week, playing THE TOUR Championship, playing Presidents Cup. You know, comfortably Top-10 in the world. Just an amazing start to the career. Again, he's an exciting player. I can't believe I didn't mention him earlier. He's at the top of the list of the younger guys that are really bringing the game to the fore. He's just a great young guy. He's got an old head on young shoulders. I know you guys have heard that a million times, too, but in his case, he understands the game at a young age. He's cocky enough that he knows he's good, but he's not, you know, he doesn't think that he knows everything. He's ready to learn still. But I like his competitiveness.

Q. His sister is on the autistic spectrum. Curious if you had any discussions about that?
ERNIE ELS: Yes, we have spoken. Yeah, as you said, I've played with him quite a few times and we've spoken about his family and how they have coped with their situation and how they have moved forward. Yeah, we've shared some really funny kind of stories, because autistic kids are so special, and the way they handle life is quite special. So we've had some nice little chats about that.

Q. Do you get the sense that his sister helps him stay grounded or a little bit more down-to-earth?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, if I look at my own daughter, Samantha, growing up with a sibling, with a brother that's autistic, they look at life a little bit differently. They see how special these kids are and how honest these kids are and how loving they are and so forth. So I think they do grow up with a little different perspective to life. I think there's maybe a bit more of appreciation maybe.

Q. And I don't think this will apply to you just because you're a feel player, but there's so many statistics with ShotLink now; are you tempted to look at any of the analytical part?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, my whole team, the guys that work with me, my physical guy and my coach, they really love to look at those things. I hate those things because my statistics don't look so good at the moment (laughing). But it does help you in regard to where you need to practice where you're at with your game. A lot of times my argument is the flags are so tightly cut to the edge of the greens, and myself being quite an aggressive player, I can't stay away from going at flags. I miss greens by inches and it doesn't look good on the stats. But I do look at it, and it really does help. I think that's the future.

Q. The guys like Jordan Spieth, how do they keep the guys of your generation on your toes a little bit?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, they do. They are definitely not shy. As I said, they are cocky enough to know that they are good (chuckling). But we like to teach them some stuff every now and again that they haven't seen. They are great kids. I love playing with them. We are down in Palm Beach, Jupiter area where a lot of the youngsters play. I play with Keegan and I play with Rickie and I play with Michelle and Camilo and these type of guys and girls. We needle each other and it's great fun. That's the way I grew up. I played a lot of golf with Nick Price and Greg Norman and Steve Elkington and those type of guys, and we used to needle them as old-timers and they used to needle us as the rookies. So that cycle will continue, and that's one of the great things in golf.

MARK STEVENS: Thanks for your time. Best of luck this week.

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