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VERIZON HERITAGE

April 15, 2006

Ernie Els

HILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA

JOE CHEMYCZ: Welcome Ernie Els, 65 today. That is Ernie's second best round at Harbour Town. Bettered only by a 64 in the third round in 1995. Nine birdies today. Obviously a good day for you.

ERNIE ELS: I know, thanks. You have to be pleased with that. I got off to a couple of hiccups on 7. I hit it this -- the side of the green and chipped and 2-putted it for bogey.

8 was very eventful. I hit a perfect drive and tried to get a 7-iron into the green. I totally overdrew it, it went into the bunker on the left. But it went all the way through to the left side against the sleeper, the wooden sleeper there, and tried to get my club under the ball, but I hit the wood and it bounced over the wall, so I had fresh air, there, and then scrambled it out to make six on that hole. But that took me way out of the picture again.

I felt I was hitting the ball okay, I just needed to get back on track. And I did that and played a very solid back nine.

Q. The first two days, did you just say I'll be patient and I may have my opportunities later on?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I played that way yesterday, because yesterday I was really looking good from hitting the ball from tee-to-green, especially on the front nine. I probably hit 4 shots out there, I missed a lot of putts. On the back nine I just played it out, because I felt like I was playing well, just keep doing what I was doing. And I played a nice back nine yesterday and I kind of followed that through with a nice round today. I've been a little more patient so far this week.

Q. Do you play a different type of golf than you do at Augusta National?

ERNIE ELS: Not really. You don't necessarily -- you don't grind as much around the greens. The greens are a little bit flatter, obviously, and a little softer. So you can feel a little more at ease around the greens. But you have to hit fairways here and you have to hit your irons well, same as Augusta. So the only difference I would say is around the greens, it gives you a little more opportunity to maybe get the ball up-and-down.

Q. Do you, overall, feel more ease here than at Augusta?

ERNIE ELS: No, not really. I've played well there and I've played well here. I haven't won either. I'd like to win this one this week.

Q. That was my question, you enjoy it here, you like the course and you obviously would like to win this tournament?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, yeah. I'd love to get one of those ugly jackets. No, it's a wonderful place. We've got the family -- it's almost like a holiday, coming off of Augusta.

Q. Would a win here make up for maybe a couple of missed opportunities here in the past?

ERNIE ELS: Absolutely, definitely, yeah. I feel I'm not in a bad position by the end of today. And then I just try to play aggressively and play tidy, aggressive golf, if you know what I mean. You've got to keep the doubles away.

Q. I was just going to ask tomorrow, now that you've got yourself in position, do you think on those missed opportunities and think of the lessons you learned from there?

ERNIE ELS: Definitely. I don't think I'll be hitting driver on 16 (laughter) so I think I've definitely learned a lesson there. You've got to go out there and play your game. I've got to be out there and try and play the golf course as good as I can.

Q. You seem to see somebody make a move like this on Saturday every year, here. What is it about this course that gives everybody who makes the cut have a chance to stay in?

ERNIE ELS: The way the golf course is designed. You don't really get -- I think last year could have been a bit of a run away. But the golf course keeps the people very close. To make birdies, you've got to hit very good golf shots. It's like hole after hole. There's no layup. You have to keep hitting good drives, keep hitting good second shots. If you have a bit of a lapse you're going to make bogey. You see a lot of birdies and a lot of bogeys and see guys shoot around par, especially in the final round. It's tough to break away.

Q. After what happened on 8, how tough was it to stay patient and stay focused after that?

ERNIE ELS: It was difficult. It seems like the last month I've been doing that, getting myself going quite nicely and then I fall back. And it was another one of those. But today I was a bit more determined not to let it get to me too much, and I played a good back nine.

Q. It seems pretty difficult to put two rounds like this together, especially on a weekend. Do you think you might need another 65 tomorrow?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I think so. That's been my game plan ever since yesterday evening. I said to Ricci, we have to get into -- low into the 60s. When you get it going on a roll like this, I want to keep it going. I feel like I'm playing well, and I might as well try to do the same tomorrow.

End of FastScripts.

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