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THE INTERNATIONAL

August 4, 2004

Ernie Els

CASTLE ROCK, COLORADO

TODD BUDNICK: We welcome Ernie Els, the 2000 winner of The INTERNATIONAL. Ernie is currently ranked third on the Money List and first in Europe still?

ERNIE ELS: I believe so. I haven't checked lately.

TODD BUDNICK: Let's talk about coming in this week. You've played the course again, how does it look?

ERNIE ELS: The course is looking fabulous, really. It's playing quite long. You guys must have had a lot of rain here the last couple of months here or weeks.

The rough is up. The rough's really up. I don't think I've ever seen it that thick. It might help scoring a little bit. The guys might play a little bit differently, trying to keep the ball in play a little bit more than usual. The greens are running beautiful. They are quite soft, so you can come in with longer irons and stop the ball.

This morning they were running beautifully. Seemed like the front nine the greens were a little bit faster than the back. I started on the back and maybe there was a bit more dew on the greens. But they are running beautiful. The course is in great shape. The bunkers are looking good. So, you know, like usual, they really do a good job here and look after the course.

TODD BUDNICK: You've had a fair amount of success here and you're looking for your sixth straight Top 10 finish here. What is it about the course and the area that you like?

ERNIE ELS: Well, the area is wonderful. I love coming here. I've been coming here for so many years now. I stay with friends here on the tee box at 11, so it's kind of nice. But the format, you know, I love the format. If you can keep a double bogey off your card and if you're playing half decently, you can make a couple of birdies, you can have a pretty good week.

You've got to try and play the birdie holes well. You need those par 5s and a couple of short par 4s where you have really got to try and take advantage, because they have some good ones out there, too. No. 10 is a tough hole. 18 has become a really difficult par 4 and some other ones.

So, you know, you never really are out of it. You could be eight to ten points behind, but you can make some points up coming down the stretch, if you get lucky and make some Eagles or some birdies. It's a very exciting format and I think the players really like it. It's a little bit off the beaten track. It's not the normal grind on TOUR, you can have some fun this week.

Q. With everybody making a big deal about preparation at Whistling Straits, did you ever consider skipping this and going out early for the PGA?

ERNIE ELS: No, I had a couple opportunities to go to Whistling Straits this year which I did not take. (Laughing). I decided to stay at home. No, I was never going to go to Whistling Straits this week to practice.

I know well, I don't know, but I've heard from the guys that it's quite a different golf course than we're used to. I think a lot of guys knew that or thought that they had to go play some more practice rounds there which makes sense. It takes away from this field a little bit. A lot of the regulars are not here, like Phil and Vijay who have come here almost every year for the last ten years. They are not here.

But you can also understand it, you know. It's a different course we play next week. I'm going to play three full practice rounds before Thursday; I don't normally do that. I'll play fly in and play 18 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to see what it's like tee shots, wind directions. It's going to be quite a lot of fun next week I think.

Q. Along those same lines, do your chances improve here this week when the field might not be as strong in the Top 10?

ERNIE ELS: Well, you know, the Tour is so strong now, I mean, anybody that's on can really go out and win a golf tournament. But, yeah, it's not as top heavy maybe as last year. It's still a quality field. You have some great players here this week. It doesn't I mean, you don't have Vijay or Phil, it doesn't really it takes away from the field, and there are some great players here this week that can still win.

Obviously spectators like to see Phil. He's become quite a fan favorite in the last few years now and he's quite an exciting player, especially in this format to watch. So is Vijay.

But we've got a strong field, we've got a good field here this week, and you've got to play as good as you can to win. There are some great players here.

Q. Maybe you have a bit of a different perspective, what do as the Ryder Cup approaches, what do the different sort of non Ryder Cup international players, how do you guys look at it, what kind of interest do you have and what do you anticipate happening at Oakland Hills?

ERNIE ELS: Well, as with the Presidents Cup now, we don't really look at it at all, really, to be honest. We might watch it on television. I like to watch it on television, I don't know about the other guys.

But playing the Presidents Cup and being so close last time, I know what these guys go through now. I felt that pressure. I felt a lot of pressure. You feel it more playing in that kind of team environment than you do this week or at a major championship. They play for each other and you don't want to screw up for the team, you know. You want to try and play as good as you can.

As an outsider, I really, truly I don't care who wins it. (Laughing). I have friends on both sides. I have friends on the U.S. side and friends on the European side. I can't pick a side. I like to watch it and see what happens at the end. It's always close.

Q. Do you have any predictions at all?

ERNIE ELS: Predictions? Well, they are playing Oakland Hills, which is a very long, tough, U.S. Open type setup. If look at U.S. Open performers, I think Padraig Harrington, he's done well. Darren Clarke has done well on those type of courses. At the moment, I would probably say that the U.S. are the but these matches are always tough to call. On paper and where they are playing at, I would say the U.S. is maybe a little ahead at the moment.

Q. You came here as a very young player, how many more international players do you see being around the PGA TOUR now than when you first came out, and is it because what are the reasons, is the travel better, easier, is the money too good, the competition?

ERNIE ELS: Well, first of all, it's totally different. When I came here, I think '92 I was here '91 and '92 I came here. I look and it was mainly The INTERNATIONAL is different. Even in those days, Mr. Vickers would try to get an international flavor into this tournament. But if you took the PGA TOUR as a whole, it's really changed a lot. Nick Price and David Frost and Fulke was here, Greg Norman obviously was here, Wayne Grady was playing. There was quite a few international players, but nothing like now. I don't think there was a Swedish player on TOUR here, which we have now. We've got a Paraguayan, we've got a Japanese and South Africans, Zimbabwean, I could go on and on, Europe. There's a huge international flavor in the PGA TOUR right now.

And the reasons for that, I think first of all, my dream was always to come here, to play on the PGA TOUR. But I did it kind of the hard way. I went through Europe and through the Hogan Tour and eventually came out here. A lot of people now, like Adam Scott, he went to college, and came on TOUR, through the European Tour. Some other players came straight out here. So, first of all, everybody wants to play out here, the golf courses are the best in the world, the money is obviously the best. It's really the Tour you want to be on.

My home is in London. My little girl is going to go to school, I'll still play the European Tour, but I keep on trying to play more tournaments over here and it's hard to do with my schedule. But this is the Tour where everybody really want to play.

Q. Do you some day see a world tour rather than as much separation as there is even now?

ERNIE ELS: I don't think so. It would be too hard to do. No, I think the way it is now is pretty good. You've got the World Golf Championships; if you're good enough, you qualify for them. I think there's five or six of them around the world, so that's fine.

You've got the European Tour that's doing very well. It's really healthy at the moment. The Ryder Cup has really helped that tour, the Europeans winning the Ryder Cup has really helped the Tour. They are playing for a lot of money over there and it's a very good tour. And this one here, it's the strongest of all the tours around the world obviously and they have the strongest fields. The way it's set up at the moment, I think that's the way to go.

Q. One last thing a little different. You mentioned Mr. Vickers. How much is he a part of this tournament? Is that different than, say, an event last week or three weeks?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I think it is. This tournament remind me a lot of the Memorial. Jack Nicklaus, he is the main guy there. Obviously oversees how the golf course takes shape. He's obviously a designer, so he changes the course almost every year.

It's the same here. Mr. Vickers is very hands on here. And what I like about Castle Pines, the international, is each guy seems to know what he's doing. The gentleman here, he looks after the press center and he's been doing it for so many years. Whenever you have to come see the press, he comes to see you, you know, and everybody here has a little thing that he does. It reminds me a lot of Memorial, and in a way of Augusta. So it is different than other events on TOUR.

Q. Talk a little about your thought process after the playoff at the British Open and what was going through your mind. You obviously were very disappointed in the outcome and probably thinking there was a shot here or there that you could have picked up.

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, absolutely. I think you said it all there. You come that close, and I didn't play a very good playoff. I put myself in position, maybe I could have made two or three birdies, but I just didn't quite trust my putting stroke and the lines that I read for some reason. I made mistakes there.

But, I've got to take my hat off again to Todd. He kept it together and especially regulation play, he played so well those last five holes. He chipped in for birdie on 14 and up and down on 15 for par, he birdied 16. He played really well coming in.

I had a couple of chances and that's the thing that hurts. I felt that I had enough chances to have won the tournament, and for some reason, it just didn't quite work out. I gave it my best shot. All week, I wasn't quite on my putting for some reason. And it probably shows a little bit in the playoff, but after the double on 10, I felt I did well to get to 10 under, and I felt 10 under all day was kind of a good score because it wasn't all that easy. It was kind of a bit of a breeze blowing. But Todd just hung in there and he was tough, and he did what he had to do to win a golf tournament.

My thought process right after that, I was very disappointed obviously. But you've got to move on and I'm ready to move on now again.

Q. As the other majors approach, do you look forward to competing and having a chance to win or is there a slight dread of what's going to happen this time?

ERNIE ELS: A little bit of both. I've had chances in all three. Obviously Shinnecock was a bit of a disaster. I felt I played well.

The Masters, I really didn't feel very disappointed after that one, unlike after the Open, as I just said. Still, I've come this close, so obviously I'm doing something right. Something is good in my game. It's just not quite there right at the end product, it's not quite there yet. But, I'll keep working and keep concentrating, keep my mental attitude good.

Let's see what the golf course is like at Whistling Straits. I think I've got a press conference there on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll like the course and if my eye like it is and I like the golf course, then there's no reason why I shouldn't play well. I've been working on my game again, especially last weekend, so the ball striking is there, the mental attitude I think will be there. So let's see what happens.

I think there's a bit of down still in me, which will come out and hopefully it will come out there at the PGA.

Q. Is there an accumulative effect when you come close several times in a row and you haven't won for a little while in the majors?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, as I say, the reason I've had quite a few chances, there's good and bad in it. It's there's good in that your game is good, but the bad is that the end product, as I say, it's not quite there. So there's still something missing. So, you know, if you look at it that way, yeah, you can kick yourself quite a few times, but the last four years, you know, I think I've had five 2nds and quite a few Top 5s and Top 10s. I think I'm giving myself that chance. The greatest player, he's finished second how many times, 18?

TODD BUDNICK: Jack? 19.

ERNIE ELS: I'm still behind him on 2nds, and still behind him on 1sts, put it that way.

Q. You said there are so many good players out here now than there were when you were coming in, is there one do you look at somebody, is there one particular player that you can look at and that you think is, well, here is a guy that's going to surprise some people, here is a guy that could really do well down the road, and could you share that person with us?

ERNIE ELS: Well, first is my boy Adam Scott, which I don't think there be that big of a surprise anymore. Adam is my boy for the future. I think Trevor Immelman, he has not performed very well in the States here yet. Watch out for him; he's quite a player. He's playing well in Europe.

You know, you're right, there's so many. You think that there's going to be an Aussie, but I already called Adam, but there's quite a few Aussies out there and they are playing really well. I've always thought of Jeff owing I will vie owing vie as a potential, he's been playing over here for quite a few years now. Geoff Ogilvy to think about it now is kind of hard, but Adam is my boy.

Q. Isn't there a great young South Africa can that you talked about?

ERNIE ELS: Sterling Chatts (phonetic). I think he's 19 now, eventually turned 19. He's been on the European Tour for two years already. Hell of a player. Really good player. Watch out for him when he comes over here. He's got the length, great short game, watch out for him, very aggressive, good player. He's going to be good.

Q. Where this tournament not as top heavy as you called it, does that change your strategy at all, less guys to watch out for, less score board watching, does it have a different feel to it?

ERNIE ELS: You've got to watch out. You always look at the big names and you've got these other guys coming through and I call them other guys only because you guys keep talking about Vijay and Phil and so forth. This tour is strong. Anybody that's on his game, if you go watch a guy on the range, you take your pick, these guys can all play. This course a little different than other normal tour events, the long hitter, you have to watch out for him, and the guy that can get on to the par 5s in two shots. If he can get there in two shots, obviously you've got a chance for five points, an easy two points. A guy that hits the ball high, you have to look for them this week.

But then again, we've had winners, David Toms, a long hitter but doesn't hit it extra long and he's a great putter when he's on, and he won this thing by a mile when he won it, I think two, three years ago. There's so many players.

I like to look at guys who can reach the par 5s in two and go for the eagle putts. That's where you make your points.

Q. With the World Rankings hard to move up once you're in the Top 10, but do you think you have a claim to No. 1 right now the way you've been playing and the way you feel you've been playing?

ERNIE ELS: Well, I've been quite consistent this year and most of last year, so I made my points but I need a big win, obviously. We all know that. Hopefully it comes this week or next week, who knows. What I've been trying to do is not think about it and try to think about playing my best golf and trying to hit my best shot. If I can keep doing that, the rest will take care of itself. I can't think I need a big week this week because I want to be No. 1. I don't want to think that way. I want to think, doing what I've been doing. I think what I've been doing is probably the right formula the last three years. Just try and get better, play better, score better and do my thing better and hopefully it's good enough to be No. 1.

Q. You were just talking about parity on TOUR, do you think parity is the reason we are seeing everybody from Ben Curtis to Phil Mickelson winning majors because everybody is so good out here?

ERNIE ELS: Well, yeah, I think the guy I mean, Todd Hamilton showed it again. He's a good solid player. People in the U.S. don't know him very well. As players it was not a big surprise for us because we knew how good he was playing in Asia, in Japan. He won 10, 12 times over there and you've got to play good golf to win over there. He was in the top 5 players over there for a very long time.

It just shows you, this guy comes over, he has a bit of confidence in his game, in his ability, and I went out there and he did it and he never backed off. There's a lesson in that for everybody.

When I won my first major in '94 ten years ago, I was nobody. I mean, nobody knew me. But I felt I was playing good that week and stuck with my guns here and there, got a couple of good drops here and there and I won the tournament. That's exactly what's happening now. It's not like this is a big change. It's been happening for a very long time.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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