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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 20, 2006

Ernie Els

HOYLAKE, ENGLAND

STEWART McDOUGALL: Ernie Els, thank you for coming in. 68, 4 under par, there's a big logjam there on 4 under par. Is the course playing dramatically different than yesterday?

ERNIE ELS: Yes, it is. It's a lot different from yesterday afternoon. I played nine holes yesterday late afternoon and it was really very firm and almost out of control. The rains came last night and it made a big difference. This morning we had very little wind and pretty soft conditions, so it was a good day for scoring this morning.

Q. Obviously with the score you've posted, the course was very much to your liking. What impressed you particularly about the layout out there?

ERNIE ELS: It's a great golf course. It's so bunkered. It gives you all kinds of options. A lot of the holes I was aggressive on and flew it, some of the cross bunkering. But on other occasions I laid back and gave myself long second shots, but from the fairway.

I felt my iron play was quite solid today. I hit a lot of greens. And never really hit it very close, except for the one hole. But I just tried to play a solid round of golf.

If you're a little off you're going to play the price, and you're going to have a tough time making par. It would have been a lot tougher today if the golf course stayed the same as it was yesterday.

Q. Given the benign conditions, the fact that there's 20,000 people at 4 under and no one has shot a huge number, what about this course has allowed that and can we expect that to continue on through the week?

ERNIE ELS: First of all, it's a major championship and it's the first round of the major championship and you definitely don't want to shoot yourself out of it the first day. So you're not taking as many chances on the first day. You basically are trying to play a solid round of golf. That's what I try to do, anyways. And you really try to keep big numbers off the card.

I think as the week goes on we'll see how the golf course progresses. If it stays soft there will be a couple of 64's out there. There's enough par 5s where you can score. We're not even halfway through the day and there's already good scoring.

But it's not the hardest course we've ever played because of the weather, but there's enough trouble out there where it makes you really think on every hole.

Q. The wind is slightly picking up and the course seems to be drying. Was it an advantage to play this morning?

ERNIE ELS: What do you think, Mate? (Laughter.) Yes.

Q. It looks as though there are brown patches on the green through which you might have to putt and then lush patches, and of course lush patches which you have to putt through. Is there a noticeable difference in speed as the ball travels over those two different colored sections?

ERNIE ELS: This morning it was a lot more predictable. Yesterday when it was really firm it was kind of a guessing game on the greens. Some of the greens were very fast. Some of the greens were a little bit more patchy, as you say, a little bit more grass. So, yeah, when it gets really firm, that's when the greens become quite tough. This morning, although it looked like it was brown, it is brown, but there was quite a bit of rain last night, so there was a bit of moisture in the greens. So they were more consistent today, yeah.

Q. How would you characterize the role of luck in links golf or this layout as opposed to other weeks and other layouts?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, it is, like any course. But these bunkers are so small, and a lot of times you can go the ball is going at the bunker and you get a bounce and it might bounce over the bunker. Other times it shoots forward and it goes up against the face. And that's a huge difference in making a double or a bogey and maybe making par or birdie.

But saying that, I mean, the way these golf courses were designed was to play the ball down. It's not to hit it in the air and see how much spin you can put on the ball. These golf courses were designed to run the ball in. And you'll always see on each and every hole out there, there's always space for you where you can bounce the ball into the green. So shot making really comes to the fore playing links golf, low cut shots into the green or low hook shots, and I just love it. Sometimes you get really bad bounces and sometimes you get a good break. So luck plays a part in links golf and in parkland golf, too, I guess. But maybe more so in the links golf.

Q. How much impact do you think does this special kind of atmosphere, like big party, have on does that have an impact on your game, the whole atmosphere, so many people?

ERNIE ELS: I love playing over here. Seems like there are more stands out here, grandstands for people to sit on. It's not very loud out there, you know, like you get in the U.S. But they applaud when you hit a good shot. And even when you hit it to 30 feet they'll applaud because a lot of them have probably played the golf course or played links golf and know how good the shot was. It's a different crowd than we have in the rest of the world.

Q. You talked coming in like you were pretty close to where you wanted to be with your game. I'm just wondering how you built on that today, and was this pretty much the way you've been playing in your practice rounds?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I've been hitting the ball quite solidly, playing quite nicely. I did so last week, I didn't quite make too many putts. But I feel comfortable with my game. My knee feels very fine and it feels like I'm swinging almost the way where I've been at my best. My game is right where I want it. My putting is okay, chipping is okay, so I'm looking forward to the rest of the week.

Q. You said earlier this week that four rounds of under 70 should win the tournament. Have the weather conditions changed that prediction?

ERNIE ELS: The way it was yesterday, you'd run by a mile. But the conditions have changed a little bit. I'm sure it's going to be get firmer again by Saturday or Sunday. And who knows, if the breeze picks up, if you shoot anything under par it will be a good score then. But yeah, I still stand by that. You shoot four rounds under 70, you've got to have a very decent chance of winning the tournament. So there's still a lot of golf to be played, a lot of rounds to be played, a lot of holes, but that's kind of the game plan still there.

Q. Ernie, you mentioned a few times this year your putting has been holding you back. You three putted the first, you're very talk about your confidence today.

ERNIE ELS: I felt more comfortable, and the strike on the ball feels solid. My speed feels okay on the putts and I've been reading them quite nicely. I've been speaking to Bob Rotella little bit the last couple of weeks and taking his advice and trying to putt more like the way I used to putt way back. And that's what I'm trying to do. And just trying to get a little different mindset on the putts.

I putted okay today. I had those couple of three putts, but I'm going to try to be a bit more patient.

Q. There have been times when you've got off to bad starts in majors. Was there a conscious effort on your part to go in with the approach you talked about a minute ago, to make sure you don't put yourself too far back the first days, to be solid and steady?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I think so. Some of my best rounds have come when I bogeyed the first hole. So I tell myself that all the way around. But I really played, I felt comfortable out there off the tees, and as I said before, you know, I laid back quite a bit on some of the holes, even went in with long irons. I was patient with that. I just wanted to hit shots and play the golf course the way it should be played, instead of trying to score.

And that's just what I want to keep on doing, just hit the shots and just play the game, basically, play the golf course, see how the golf course is set up and play that way.

End of FastScripts.

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