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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 12, 2005

Ernie Els

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND

STEWART McDOUGALL: Ladies and gentlemen, we have Ernie Els, the 2002 Open Champion.

You won at Muirfield in 2002 and you finished second last year. Are you back in winning form this year?

ERNIE ELS: Well, if I knew that we'd all be running to the bookies right now. Yeah, I'd love to do well here at the Old Course. I obviously know the course very well. I've played here many, many times. And I probably know the course as good as anybody. The golf course is such a unique design. Every day that you play it it's a different course, depending on the weather conditions, depending on the flag positions. There's always a little bit of different strategy on certain holes that you have to follow to get the ball near the hole.

And at the end of the day it's like any other major championship, it tests your whole golf game and the secret obviously to really score well is to putt well and make a lot of putts.

Yeah, I've had a couple of good Open Championships the last couple of seasons. So I've always enjoyed links golf, and this is no different.

Q. On the putting area, last Saturday at Loch Lomond, you probably could have been leading if that six didn't hang on the edge. Is there anything you changed this week or are you looking to change anything?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, yeah, I really played well last week, and especially on that Saturday. I know you were walking with us. And it's just one of those rounds, you walk off with a 67 and it feels like you shot 87 kind of a thing. I just hit it so good. But I did look at my putting and I knew there was something not quite right. I thought my pace last week wasn't right. I didn't get the ball running at the hole. I started working on that a little bit on Sunday, even, and then the last two days in practice rounds and made a couple of adjustments, small, minor adjustments and hopefully it will work out for me. Definitely I've widened my stance a little bit and put the ball back in my stance a little bit to get it better through the roll on the greens. And I'm just trying to get the pace the way the ball is going at the hole, so I figure it will help.

Q. Obviously until we know the flag positions, you can't describe the complete course setup, but what are your views, say, on the roughs this year, the changes, what do you think?

ERNIE ELS: Well, I think it's really in great condition. I think there's a bit of green in the land at the moment, they must have had a bit of rain here, definitely not this week, but there's a greening there. Obviously it's going to be changing with the hot weather, so the ball is starting to run a little bit more on the fairways and the greens are getting a lot firmer. So if it starts blowing a bit it can be a very, very difficult challenge.

And all those changes they've made on tee boxes, it seems like on the back nine every tee box is moved back. It's playing a lot longer. The direction of the wind yesterday was into us off the left on the back nine. And although it was just a little breeze, maybe half a club breeze, you could really see the changes, and especially on 14. Normally we could get there, even with a stiff breeze in our face, but yesterday it was a three shot par 5. 13 was a lot different. Those bunkers that we have been we haven't really seen the last five, six, eight, even ten years, those bunkers we haven't seen are really in play again. So I think that is the strategy, and I think it's worked.

Q. Tougher?

ERNIE ELS: Definitely tougher. Definitely a lot longer. They've put enough length into some of those holes where it's really making a difference. And the rough on 17 is the highest I've ever seen it, left and right.

Q. Too high?

ERNIE ELS: Well (laughter).

Q. You do? And can I just complete the thing? On other parts of the course or just on 17?

ERNIE ELS: Some other parts. 14 on the right by the wall. If you just leak it a bit too far, normally you used to get a kick off from the wall, but they've got rough next to the wall now. The rough on 12, if the wind comes up into your face you've got to hit it right and there's a lot of rough there now. Where is the other one? Yeah, where there is rough it's really demanding. We've got a lot of split fairways here.

Q. You say you've prepared your game for the course this year. Does that mean are you mentally prepared for another playoff like last year or another tense finish that we've had?

ERNIE ELS: Well, I'd love to be in the playoff. If you give me a playoff right now I'll take it. That's a pretty good tournament right there. Obviously the playoff didn't work out for me last year. I didn't do what I needed to do, and Todd Hamilton won it. But you'd love to be in that position, wouldn't you? Right now I'd take it.

Q. Is there anything you can do to make yourself more prepared for it this year around?

ERNIE ELS: No, I don't think so. I'm glad I played at the Scottish Open last week. As I say, you know, I could see where I need work on my game and I'm doing that at the moment. I came in here Sunday night, played a good practice round yesterday, a full one today again. I feel my game I'm striking the ball really well and I know the course really well. It's all systems go. I could start the tournament tomorrow if I have to.

Q. Given that you got so close, did it take you a while to get over that last year, that climax?

ERNIE ELS: Absolutely. Near misses like that, you look back at what you could have done better and where you made silly mistakes, and if you didn't do that it could have gone the other way. You analyze the whole tournament. Yeah, it takes a while, but we're over it now. It's not like the first time I've been close. I've been close many times.

Q. Will you get a chance to enjoy the sentiment of Jack's last major appearance? And in your opinion, what impact has he had on major championship golf?

ERNIE ELS: Well, I think this is a very special week, yeah. I think with Jack going out, yeah, it's kind of a milestone in golf, you know. We will remember this week for a long time. It is the week where Jack Nicklaus steps out, steps away. There comes a time where great, special players in the game calls it a day. Bobby Jones did it. Ben Hogan. Now it's Jack Nicklaus's turn. We'll remember it for a long time. It's a special occasion, especially that it's here at St. Andrews.

There's not much for me to say about Jack. I think we all know his record and what he's done for the game and for us, for our generation, too, that he's done so much for the popularity of the sport. And all his wins around the world speaks for itself. So he's just a great player.

Q. 17 is obviously one of the most dramatic holes in golf. Will you stand on the tee with a different way of playing it now, with the rough down the right? Do you think about it differently?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I think so. I think your tee shot has to be in play. If your tee shot is not in play you're going to have a bit of a nightmare there. I think what I'm going to try to do is, even if I have to hit a 2 or 3 iron, but just put it in the fairway, even if I'm going to have a much longer second shot. I'd just like to hit it in the fairway there. And then just try and run it into the front side of the green and try and make four. If I make four, great. If I make five it's not a train smash. As you know, you just said, you can make anything there. It's a really dramatic hole. And yeah, with the rough now you can't be as aggressive as maybe some of the other holes.

Q. (Inaudible.)

ERNIE ELS: You know, we can debate it. It's one of the most difficult second shot holes in golf. You'd like to see a little bit more room there, as it is a totally blind tee shot, unless you're 15 feet tall (laughter). It's a demanding tee shot, and obviously the second shot is as demanding as the tee shot. And you'd like to see a bit more room there. But as it is, the 17th hole, they want to make it as challenging as possible, especially with 18 as birdieable.

Q. If you're hitting less off the tee, does that mean you don't go at the Road Bunker at all, over the Road Bunker?

ERNIE ELS: Well, no, the Road Bunker is always in play. Maybe even more so because you're coming in with a longer second shot. And with a silly bounce you can easily get it in the bunker. So you might have to play more defensively on your second shot. The closer you get to the green the more aggressive you normally want to get. You play the one end with the other one. You're very conservative. You have to be conservative on your second shot. That's why I say, maybe they could have given you a bit more room to make it even more spectacular on the second.

STEWART McDOUGALL: Ernie, thank you very much.

End of FastScripts.

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