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HSBC WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

October 17, 2004

Ernie Els

SURREY, ENGLAND

GORDON SIMPSON: Ernie, congratulations with your record-breaking six HSBC World Match Play championship wins, three wins in the 90s, three wins in this decade, a great way to spend your 35th birthday I think.

ERNIE ELS: Thank you. It's been a great run, hasn't it?

Q. Can you compare this win to any others?

ERNIE ELS: I can't remember, you know, obviously no tournament has ever gone like that for me ever. It's really a good feeling. I mean, match-play, it's different. This year, I didn't play as good as last year on paper. Match-play, it doesn't really count, it doesn't matter, I should say. I get my nose in front of the guys I played against and that's all you try and do.

You know, six wins and I'm 35, and hopefully it will pay off and I will keep playing. So now that you've got the record, might as well really build it up. But I don't want to get ahead of myself. Really I'm very grateful for what's happened here. It's been wonderful, and you know, what can I say? It's a wonderful feeling.

GORDON SIMPSON: An unusual experience for you having to play eight times in four days. How do you feel at the end of it all?

ERNIE ELS: I think it has a little bit to do with the way we played today, all of the golf we played. Definitely yesterday when I when I spoke to you guys, I was really on my game, my swing was good, I was striking the ball great. I played good yesterday. I missed a lot of putts, but I could have been 14- or 16-under par.

But today I was a little out of rhythm this morning. You know, I made some good putts for eagle, I made some birdies, but made a lot of mistakes. I think I made three or four bogeys this morning, and you can't do that in match-play. And I don't think I've ever done it in any match I've ever played to be honest. I think the amount of golf and the miles we walked, it started taking its toll a little bit.

Q. How do you regard the achievement of six wins?

ERNIE ELS: I was just thinking about that. I had a chance to win four in a row back in '97, I remember and I lost to Vijay 1-down. I remember I was thinking about that record that day. I remember that very clearly. It definitely backfired on me.

Since then, you know, you learn from your mistakes and I really don't want to think about it. I was just trying to, as I said to you all week, just try and win each and every match, whatever it takes. So that's what I tried to do.

Q. With this win, how do you feel about your season?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I tell you one thing, I mean, the -- three weeks ago I was complaining about all kind of stuff and now, you know, I've won twice in three weeks. So I'm definitely eating my words at the moment. It's turning out to be a great season. Yeah, obviously this is the biggest prize in golf. To win it twice now is great. Again, we look at the title first, you try and get yourself in the books, and then the money comes, you know, and it definitely comes in this event.

Q. Inaudible

ERNIE ELS: It's a totally different event, isn't it? It's a match-play event. You play different golf. The majors are still the ones that I really treasure. This is a great record, this is a great events but it stands on its own. The majors are different golf. You know, you play totally different golf. So I'd like to -- this is great. I would still like to win the majors, the Grand Slam, excuse me. At least I've got one record on Gary Player. (Laughter.) I think he's got eight or nine majors, that's a long way away for me, but at least I've got him on this one.

Q. Maybe he'll come back.

ERNIE ELS: Maybe he'll come back. You never know with Gary.

Q. Can you explain why you play match-play so well?

ERNIE ELS: You know, I really -- I am competitive. I really don't like losing, believe me. I know exactly how Lee feels at the moment. That's not a good feeling to have, believe me; I've been there. So that's really the driving force, try and do whatever you can to win without being obsessed. You don't want to give six-inches putts. You want to be competitive and take your game and say: Here I am, what are you going to do to beat me. I think in many ways, my very first match was almost the most difficult against Scott Drummond. I've never played him; if he gets hot, you never know what to expect.

But the other players, I kind of know what to expect and I can apply pressure the same way they try and apply pressure to me, and that's the name of the game in match play. You need to keep firing away. You can't get despondent.

Q. Did you ever speak to Gary Player about match-play?

ERNIE ELS: No, we never spoke about that. I've played a lot of practice rounds with Gary until the Masters and I played with him at the British Open -- or the Open, excuse me, quite a few times. In practice rounds he would help me a little bit around Augusta National and some of the links courses we played, Lytham, St. Annes and so forth, but never really spoke about any strategy.

I think the guy that helped me with strategy and my game and my life and my swing was Nick Price more than anybody. He's been kind of -- I almost want to say mentor, because I've known him most of my life.

Q. Did you speak to your grandfather today?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I spoke to my grandfather (NB: also named Ernie). The family gave me a nice surprise this morning, Liezl, Samantha, with some nice presents and stuff. I thought it was Christmas. It's my birthday; I'm 35. They were great. I spoke to a lot of the family last night and this morning. So yeah, my grandfather has been great. He started the whole ball rolling. He's very important.

Q. You spoke to Seve, at the end, what did he have to say?

ERNIE ELS: He just congratulated me. He is as tough as they come. It's a good thing he's not around. I remember that time when I beat him, that was some of the best golf I ever played in a tournament. Yeah, he congratulated me and that was about that. (Laughing).

Q. Anything in particular that Nick Price said to you that you could share?

ERNIE ELS: You know, as you guys know, I get quite hard on myself, and you know, he's very good friends with Ricci, also, my caddie. We would have a couple of beers and we'll analyze some things and see what I have to work on. He would talk about my swing. I think he's one of the few players out there that really understands the way I function.

Q. Any good presents?

ERNIE ELS: Just quite a few cards actually. That's actually what I meant. They gave me about seven or eight birthday cards.

Q. What have you got left?

ERNIE ELS: What have I got left? Well, next week off, I'll have a good time. Surely have a good time tonight.

I've got the Tampa tournament, TOUR Championship, I'm play the Nelson Mandela tournament, Sun City, I'm going to do Mr. Rupert another favor and play the Dunhill at Leopard Creek and I'll have three weeks off and then go to Hawaii.

Q. When did you first think of buying a house here?

ERNIE ELS: Well, Liezl, we were kind of house hunting. Actually after this event -- strangely it was after Lee beat me one year, I think it was '98 or something. We went around this place with Willie Bauer (ph), and we walked around, actually on a Monday, and as we went through the gates, I said to Liezl, "Don't get too excited, but this is it." (Laughter.) So yeah, we've done a lot to the house since then and it's really home now.

Q. How old is your grandfather?

ERNIE ELS: He will be 96. 96 young years, unbelievable.

He's quite odd, you know. The older he gets, the odder he gets, I tell you. He was also giving me a piece of advice about my putting this morning and last night. Hopefully he's happy now. At least I made one good putt.

Q. You mentioned the majors Ã¢ï¿½ï¿½ what do you have to do to win one in 2005?

ERNIE ELS: Well, I think winning is one thing. The way you win, it's another thing. I think this week, you know, I knew the course very well and I got myself around the course. I managed myself very well and I got any nose ahead of other players and I kept it there. So I went a little bit more with grit than with flare.

I think the way I played in Ireland was very good, my standards. I hit a lot of good shots there that Sunday in those conditions. So if I play that level, then I think I'll have some good years to come. But it all depends how you time yourself going into majors. You've got to get your game spot-on, your short game has to be good, but if I can keep going the way I'm going, I'll be fine.

Q. Can you compare the two events, this match-play to the WGC Match Play?

ERNIE ELS: Obviously there's more players that you have to beat at the other one, but not really, because I think you go through four or five rounds, so maybe only one more player that you have to beat. But it's very different, 18-hole matches, we've said it so many times, it's a little different. These kind of matches, you've got all day. Look at Lee, at lunch he started getting a bit sick, you know, which is to my benefit and negative to him.

So a lot of things can happen in a full day's golf. You have to keep your nerve all day, you've got to be aggressive at times. So you've got to really be patient a lot more than in 18-hole matches. 18-hole matches, you'll see some guys get lucky and beat guys that might be playing a little better.

Q. You said your granddad had a piece of advice for you; what was it?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, he just told me to keep my head still. That's pretty -- that's a pretty easy one to go for. I mean, my wife can give me that one.

GORDON SIMPSON: Thank you, Ernie.

End of FastScripts.

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