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BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 13, 2004

Ernie Els

ROYAL TROON, SCOTLAND

STEWART McDOUGALL: Ladies and gentlemen, we have Ernie Els today. Muirfield you won, a traditional Scottish course, and back at Troon. What are your chances at winning this week?

ERNIE ELS: You know, that's what we're here for. We have to try to play good golf. And I don't want to think about winning right now. There's a lot of hard work left over the next couple of days. It's a very tough golf course. We played this morning in beautiful conditions. It makes it a little bit easier to play the course. But when the wind blows, from a prevailing -- is it north --

STEWART McDOUGALL: Northwest.

ERNIE ELS: It's a difficult course, especially coming back to the clubhouse, a lot of difficult par-4s into the breeze, you're going to be -- you've got to drive it very well. You've got to hit a lot of long irons. And then going downwind, the first nine, birdies aren't guaranteed. It's a couple of long par-5s. You've got to have a pretty sharp, short game to make birdies on the front nine.

So all in all, it's a very fair, good test of golf this week on a very tough golf course. The rough is not terrible, you can get the ball out of the rough. So it makes it more exciting. You have such deep rough, you can only get the ball out to the fairway. It kind of takes the activity out of the players hands. You'll see some of the shots out of the rough. The greens are great. The greens are running beautiful, and I can't see the greens getting away from us this time.

Q. They always say that in a major it's important to be patient, to wait for your chances, and everyone is saying that the front nine here is your opportunity to put up a good score early. Is there an extra pressure on that front nine given what's awaiting you on the back?

ERNIE ELS: Well, yeah. I have to agree with you. I think you can play quite safe off the tees on the front nine and give yourself a little bit longer shots into the greens. But even the longer shots you're even going in with short irons, from a 7-iron down to a wedge. With those kind of clubs, you've got to at least hit the green and get yourself within 25, 30 feet range. And as I said, even though it's short, going downwind it's tough to control the ball. You have to do it because that's your only real chance to make birdies. On the back nine it's just, try to hang on, hit it as good as you can, and if you shoot even par, 1, 2, 3 over, you're going to be happy with that on the back nine. So there's an extra bit of anticipation to get yourself off to a decent start maybe this year.

Q. I think you played in Troon as an amateur in '89. Can you give us some memories of that experience?

ERNIE ELS: That's 15 years ago. I had to qualify. My brother caddied for me. I was 19 years old at the time and it was my first major, first coming to the big stuff, big time golf. And I was so nervous coming around here. I went to the practice range and I told you the story when I met Jack Nicklaus for the first time and he was looking at me, and I was almost too nervous to speak. I met him for the first time and I saw some of the other great players. I saw Tom Watson that week, Seve, Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, all the great players. It was a dream come true for me.

I missed the cut. I shot 148. I remember I shot 72 in the first round and 76 the second round. I missed the cut by two shots. But I had a wonderful experience. It was a wonderful week. I stayed around for the weekend after I missed the cut and walked the golf course and saw the playoff and stuff like that. It was quite nice.

Q. As you know, our expectations of you in major championships has probably gone sky high now. What are your expectations of yourself?

ERNIE ELS: Well, majors are the most important tournaments for me and my career. That's how you shape your career, if you can get to that level to try and win majors, and as many as you can. I've only won three, but I feel that I've really played some good golf in majors in the last 4 years. I got beat by better players, quite a few times, but I felt like I've been playing good golf and that's exciting. That's what I look forward to, that's what I practice for, to get myself in contention and be effective in weekends in majors, and see how you cope with the pressure. Sometimes, as you've seen, I kind of found it hard under the pressure, and other times I've been fine with the pressure, and it's just -- it's exciting. And that's what really drives my career still, is to try to win these things. I'll keep trying to do that and trying to keep myself -- give myself chances on Sunday afternoon.

Q. The back nine in Augusta was one of the times you felt fine under the pressure?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I felt fine there. I was obviously very nervous, but I felt -- I felt positive about it. I felt my game was good and I was going after it. I was aggressive. I felt that was my time to win at the Masters, and I felt good about it. But that time I got outplayed by Phil. Other times when I almost collapsed I won, Muirfield two years ago. So it's just a strange game. It's just how the cookie kind of goes for you.

Q. My question was, you've played really good golf in majors this year, but it hasn't turned out the way you wanted it. And I know Sunday at Shinnecock wasn't one of your best days. Do you walk away from something like that, I don't know, encouraged by how you're playing in majors or is it more a disappointment because of what happened on Sunday?

ERNIE ELS: Well, to be honest with you, that was out of control. I felt it got out of control. It was really quite unplayable. But I've said that quite a few times. I shot that score, I walked away there. I went from 2nd to 9th with an 80 and that tells you how ridiculous it was. It was disappointing in the way that the golf course got away and that it wasn't fair anymore. That is why I feel disappointed. I don't feel that disappointed with my score for some reason because I know how good I was swinging, how good I was playing. And for me to shoot an 80 after playing so well, you know, I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at that, to be honest with you. But I'm disappointed at the way how it became such a farce, because it wasn't necessary, it was such a great golf course.

At the Masters, again, I feel disappointed not winning, but I played as good as I could. So one day when I'm done, I'm going to look back and say, well, what could I have done there this day. Many times you're going to look back and say I could have changed this and that, but right now I'm in the running, yeah, I'm playing my golf, I'm in the middle of my career, yeah, and I feel good about it. And if I'm not going to win this week and I finish second I'll have to take stock again, or finish 10th, where did I go wrong.

Right now I feel good about it. I've won quite a few tournaments around the world and you've just got to keep going. I've just got to keep going. I can't start thinking about how disappointed I must be when I'm not winning tournaments. You can just try and give yourself a chance.

Q. On that line, if you had won the U.S. Open you would have ascended to No. 1 in the world, how important is it to be No. 1 player, and do you think you can be there before the end of the year?

ERNIE ELS: Again, this question has been coming my way a couple of times this year. And it's nice when that question comes around, because you're doing something good. So that's positive. But I guess at 4 or five years ago that question wasn't around, we were kind of in another league, complete with Tiger. I've played good golf the last three or four years now, and been quite consistent. And where Tiger was and where he is now, I mean we're in different worlds now. A lot of the players feel that we can compete with him now at the highest level. He's still playing great golf. You guys say he's off his game, but he still finishes top 10, top 5. He's still not that off. He'll still be effective this week. To come back to your question, yeah, I guess it is important, but for me to win this tournament is more important. To win majors is more important for me, for my career. And if the No. 1 comes around, obviously it will be great. To be No. 1 in this day and age with this many great players would be quite something.

Q. Not to belabor it too much, but we haven't seen you since the U.S. Open. Some high USGA officials have made comments that you had given up in that round. I don't know if you saw that. Talking about players like yourself giving up that final round, did you ever read that or hear about those?

ERNIE ELS: They shouldn't have said that. How do you give up? That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life. I've never given up on any round of golf in my life. If I did give up, I would have shot a hundred. I mean that's ridiculous.

Q. Had you heard that before?

ERNIE ELS: I haven't heard that.

Q. I think they were trying to justify --

ERNIE ELS: You know what, they have got no idea. They've lost the plot in the story. To take one of the best golf courses in this entire world and to make it a farce like that, I mean they've got egg on their face, is all I can say.

Q. And then --

ERNIE ELS: I'd like to meet the guy that said that (laughter).

Q. And jumping back into the Tiger situation, there was a time, like you were saying a few years ago, where he was in another league and it seemed in talking to you where you would admit going into a tournament like this wondering what Tiger was going to do. Is that not the same with you and other top players, and how has that changed, that whole mindset?

ERNIE ELS: You know, right in the middle of the Tiger, the storm, should I say, eye of the storm, he was -- whenever he teed it up, I felt that he was going to shoot a 67 or something better. And in majors, normal Tour events, any event, that's the way I felt, that's how good he was playing. And at the end of the week that's almost 20-under par. And he did that quite a few times in major championships. And to do that in tough golf courses where we played, that's difficult to really even think about. And he just kept grinding away at the height of that streak. It was difficult for not only myself but for other players to really believe that you can go out there and play your game and think it's going to be good enough, you know? And I'm sure that's what I said way back then, when I was competing against Tiger. And that's just the way it went. I felt that way, and it happened that way.

Right now it's different. I feel that when he plays really well he's going to shoot a 67. But if I play well, I can shoot that score, as well, and I can keep doing that for three or four days. When I felt that back then, maybe I wasn't consistent to do that. I think a lot of players are feeling that way. I think we're more on a level playing field now, and maybe because Tiger has come back to the field a little bit.

Q. People say it's unfair to say he's in a slump because he raised the bar so high?

ERNIE ELS: Exactly.

Q. What do you call it if it's not a slump? Is it a leveling off?

ERNIE ELS: Maybe that's a good word. His swing was just so perfect, his putting, his short game, everything was just unbelievable, his mind. I mean that is still strong. But he's just a little bit off here and there, and that means he's -- he's come back a little bit. But he's so strong with his mind that he gets the ball around, gets the ball in the hole and he's a factor every tournament he plays in.

Q. How much was the very good finish you had on Sunday, how much has that helped your own confidence in coming in this week, or was it such a different type of golf course does it not matter so much?

ERNIE ELS: No, it's definitely a lot different. It's dead soft and this is very firm. It's totally different golf. It was good to play four rounds. I love Loch Lomond. I think it's the most beautiful course over here. It's good to play under comparative circumstances in the tournament, and try to win a tournament. I had a bit of an outside chance on Sunday. I played really well on Saturday. I didn't play well on Sunday, but I scored well, which is good. I feel my game is fine. I played this morning with Thomas and Lee and young Lewis. And I feel I'm hitting the ball well and I'm seeing it quite nicely on the course, I'm seeing the shots. I have tomorrow, and Thursday we start, so I feel good about it.

Q. Going back to 1989, can you tell us what you thought on the 8th tee and what your take is on that hole now?

ERNIE ELS: I played with Romero, and I can't remember the third player, and Eduardo was playing well. We got to the 8th and he had the honor, and he hit 8-iron. I made two at least there. I wanted to get off, make three and get off, go to the 9th tee. But we had good weather in '89, also, had beautiful weather. It wasn't all that tough.

Q. The key probably for the back nine is to drive the thing as straight as possible. Would you say you're driving as well as you've ever driven it?

ERNIE ELS: I'm driving it well. This week, you can miss fairways, so you don't have to be as straight in the world. You can go into the rough. If you go into the real high stuff you've really got a problem. But if you hit solid drives they might just run off the fairways, you're still going to be fine. That's why I say it's very fair. You've got to maybe manufacture something out of there, but you're going to be okay. I kind of like that, because I'm not the straightest hitter in the world, but I'm not off the planet, either. If I'm going to miss it, I'm going to have a shot, so that takes the pressure off my driving a little bit. I'm hitting it solid with my driver, and you need to be long on the back nine. So it's going to favor the longer hitter, and you don't have to be the straightest hitter, either. If you're going to miss one, you're still going to have a shot. It takes the pressure off you feel a little bit on the tee boxes.

Q. On the final day of the U.S. Open, were you playing well enough to win that day and just things didn't go your way, because of the setup that you mentioned or -- had things remained as they were on Thursday or Friday, do you think you were hitting it well enough to win that day?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, definitely. On that six-week stretch I had, I almost hit the ball better at Shinnecock than I did when I won at Muirfield Village. For some reason, my timing, I was striking the ball so pure, and my putting was good. Everything was really falling into place so nicely. But I could see Saturday afternoon, I could see the golf course going. And we had that wind blowing that evening, and then the next morning it was just gone. And I had an unfortunate start. I made that six on the first, and Retief made birdie. Already your whole mindset, everything changes after one hole. So I had a difficult start, but I played -- I hit the ball as good as I ever did. I felt really -- I felt good about that tournament.

Q. You probably know Retief as well as anybody. When did you get to know him and what is he like that maybe we don't get to see, because he keeps pretty quiet?

ERNIE ELS: Retief has always been quiet. He keeps to himself, and I've known him all my life. We've been playing golf together since we were 12 years old, and our career and our golf, our lives have kind of gone the same paths. He was a little bit late to develop into a star professional golfer, but he was a really good amateur golfer.

I think it was '88, just before we turned pro, he beat me quite regularly on the Amateur scene. And then he kind of stalled again for four or five years before he got himself together again. And at the last six years, five, six years he's been right up there. He's quiet, but he's got a hell of a game, and he's right there. He's there to challenge for the No. 1 spot, as well, I'd say. He's got the game, he's got the confidence now. And he's a hell of a player.

But, yeah, we've come a long way. We went Air Force together and he drove the bus for us. He was the guy that kept us on the road.

Q. Could you tell me please in yesterday's wind what you used for your second shot on the 11th?

ERNIE ELS: The 11th yesterday I would have used probably a 2-iron on my second shot. I didn't play -- I walked the last four holes.

Q. Into that wind, can you reach the 16th?

ERNIE ELS: No. Driver off the 16th yesterday, you would have laid up with probably a 3-iron and then a pitch.

Q. And the 17th?

ERNIE ELS: There's no breeze today. The 17th, yesterday I stood on the tee and Monty hit 2-iron and Lewis also hit 2-iron. And it's only 208 front. Shows you how the wind blows. In the wind that's a 4 or 5-iron.

Q. And the par-3 before that on the back 9?

ERNIE ELS: 14, today it was 164 front, 184 middle. Today was a smooth 6-iron. That could also be a 4-iron. So you could be waiting with your 2, 3, 4 out.

End of FastScripts.

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