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VERIZON HERITAGEApril 16, 2007Ernie ElsHILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Ernie, for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center. Great effort out there. It was a tough day, tough couple of days. But why don't you just tell us what your thoughts are right now. You ought to be pretty proud of yourself. ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I'm obviously disappointed, but you know, I played well the last four holes. I knew it was going to be tough the last stretch because of the breeze. You know, I guess the two three-putts really hurt me today on 3 and 4. You know, I should have known they didn't cut the greens, and I left a couple short and I three-putted 3 and 4. You know, I was a little uncomfortable this morning with my swing. It was cold and a little windy, but I just hung in there and then I started playing better golf on the back nine, and especially the last four holes. I was really aggressive again and was trying to make some birdies. You know, I don't think I want to see this replay. I hear Boo chipped in twice. I saw the one on 17, but he chipped in on 18, as well. You know, it's one of those things, I guess. Q. The shot on 18, did you think while it was in the air it had a chance? ERNIE ELS: Yeah, that was probably the shot of my year so far. Really, 150 yards, I hit a little 6-iron. I really thought -- I actually thought he chipped in on 17 for birdie, and I felt if I birdied 18, maybe I would have had a chance to get in a playoff. I didn't see the board on 16, 17, 18. Yeah, it was a good-looking shot. Q. Tell me about 17. You didn't look happy with the ruling. ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I was a half a club long on the shot, and it went through. It was just in the hazard. If it was this much (indicating 10 inches) shorter, it would have been out of the hazard, I would have got a drop, a line-of-sight drop. But obviously ball in the hazard, you can't get a drop like that. If you get a line-of-sight, you have to drop it in the hazard. So that's what I had to do. I was looking at my options, playing out of it where it was to the left side of the green, try and chip it in or make 4 that way. But I thought, I'll take my chances, drop it in the hazard, maybe I'll get a good lie and somehow make a 3. But it didn't quite happen that way. Q. What did you hit? ERNIE ELS: I hit 5-iron, 136 yards (laughter). The previous hole I had 117 and I hit 6-iron, so I thought -- Q. You wanted to keep it low? ERNIE ELS: Yeah, just keep it down and get it somewhere on the green, but I just hit it too flush. Q. You said you thought that Boo had chipped in for birdie on 17. Would your decision have been any different on your play on 17? ERNIE ELS: No, no, not at all. I thought I had the right shot. You know, you throw the yardage right out of the window; you just play a shot. I just had the wrong club, I guess. Q. I mean on the drop. ERNIE ELS: Oh, the drop? No, no (laughing). I would have taken my chances. Q. With your play this week, especially the first two days, do you feel a little bit closer, that you're getting closer to where you want to be? ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I have to. I said to the guys over there that Saturday was a calm day, and as I said to you guys on Saturday, I felt -- for one, I thought I got away with a bad round, but also, you know, if I kept my play up, I could have maybe stretched the lead a little bit. You know, I had myself to blame on Saturday. But today I felt I really played well under the pressure, kept the ball in play most of the way. You know, so I feel good about it, yeah. Q. Are you starting to get frustrated by this venue as close as you've been the last few years? The last six years you've had top threes. ERNIE ELS: I've got quite a few of these kind of venues on my schedule (laughter). I've come close on many occasions like this, on many tournaments. I've just got to keep knocking on the door. At least today I felt a lot more positive after today's round than I did after Saturday's round. You know, I didn't win; that's disappointing, but this is a step in the right direction. Q. What do you know about Boo? ERNIE ELS: I heard about it. I said I don't want to see the replay -- oh, what do I know about Boo? I obviously know -- I've seen his play on the Nationwide Tour last year. You know, he's obviously a good player. I saw him lose in the playoff at Honda, so he's obviously a player. You know, I guess he's paid his dues. He's won a good tournament. Q. I heard overheard your conversation with the rules official after 18. Were you talking about the pin placement on 17? ERNIE ELS: Yeah, yeah. I just wanted to know if they thought about putting the flag there on Saturday when it was calm and the flag where it is -- where it was on Saturday today. I just felt, hit it just past the hole and you go in the hazard, and it's blowing 50 miles per hour. They said they wanted to change it but they couldn't because play already started. Just one of those deals. JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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