MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS

January 6, 2004

Ernie Els

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started. We'd like to welcome Ernie Els into the interview room. Thanks for coming by and spending a few minutes with us. This is obviously a special place for you, got the 2003 season kicked off in grand style at the Mercedes Championships. Can you talk about being back, the memories you have from last year.

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, it's good memories obviously, perfect start last year, 31-under par. It's a different year. I'm looking forward to the week. I really had a nice holiday. I had five weeks off, including the Net Bank (laughter). It was good. Back home. Didn't play too much golf.

You know, last year was a beautiful year. As I just said, you know, it was a perfect start. It's always great coming here. Everybody looks at us so good here. The weather seems like it's turning good now. So far so good, you know.

First tournament of the year, you know, it's a big event, small field. You know, it would be nice to get off to a good start again.

THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and open it up for questions.

Q. Are there people here this week that don't have great expectations because rust is still there, first tournament of the year; and are there others gung-ho about playing? Where do you fit in?

ERNIE ELS: Me, I'm feeling like I want to play. As I say, I just had a really nice time off, five weeks off. I want to play well. I like the golf course. I think it suits my game. It's nice and wide, especially for the first week of the year. It's really a nice, friendly start to the season.

The greens, you know, it's not quite what we're used to. They've got a lot of grain on them. You got to really read the grain into the slope or the putt. A little bit of knowledge helps a little bit, yeah. You're not quite sure where the putt's going, there's a certain way where the grain tends to go.

I think a bit of local knowledge helps a little bit, too on the golf course.

Q. In terms of the course, how many times have you played it since you been here?

ERNIE ELS: I played nine holes yesterday; 18 this morning. You know, it's playing a lot softer than last year.

Q. What did you hit on 15?

ERNIE ELS: Exactly, on 15 yesterday I really hit one good. I mean, I didn't come close to where I was last year. It's just totally different. This year it's a lot softer. You know, it's really going to help the longer hitters even more this week because the par 5s are really long. Some of the guys just can't get to the par 5s this week. It's really not running at all.

You're not going to see 390, 400-yard drives this week. It's a little bit softer.

Q. Can it change, even if it stays like this for five days? Is it so wet...

ERNIE ELS: I think it's too wet. 18 this morning, I hit a good one, got a little bit of run. It's going down at about a 45-degree angle, so it's going to run a little bit (smiling).

No, it's not going to dry out like it was last year. The greens are holding quite nicely. The greens are slower than last year. A lot of changes, but still the same course.

Q. Considering how well you did all over the world last year, how you finished on both Money Lists, is that an attainable goal, to win on both tours?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I think it's possible. You know, obviously if you get off to a start like I did last year, it obviously helps a little bit. But still I need to play a little bit more on this tour to get myself a bit of a chance. I mean, Vijay played 26, 27 events on this tour last year. If he plays half decent, you know he's going to be in the Top 10, Top 5 at least. If he has a good year, like he did last year, he can win the Money List.

If you want to do it on both tours, you got to have a career year. But it's doable, you know. I won the Money List last year in Europe, and it was never on my agenda. But it's nice to know that I've done that.

Every year, it would be something to win that.

Q. Will you play more in the States this year? What is your schedule?

ERNIE ELS: Not yet. Not this year yet. Next year (smiling).

Q. You said last year it was going for next year.

ERNIE ELS: I played a bit more last year. I played 19, including The Presidents Cup. This year there's no Presidents Cup, so it might be 18 (laughter).

Q. You said last year that this year you were going to be playing more.

ERNIE ELS: No. Samantha, she's starting school in September. I think next year definitely it will change. I'll play 22, 23.

Q. I thought I saw on your website today that you are going to change a little bit of your travel schedule this year. Talk a little bit about what you're going to do, where your thinking is behind that.

ERNIE ELS: Well, the only one right now, I'm not going to that Singapore event like I did last year. I went from Singapore to Honolulu, it was crazy. From there, I had to go to Australia. So this year I've got a week off, but I'm still going to Bangkok. Same direction, but at least I have a week off.

After the Australian event, I have two weeks off in South Africa again. So I'm going back there. I've got another two-week holiday there. Then I'll go to do the Match Play, then to Dubai.

But in the middle of the year, it's going to be a little bit quieter. Last year I was still running across, playing on both tours in the middle of the year. It will be a little bit quieter. Still a full schedule, still a world schedule.

Q. Did it take its toll on you playing so many tournaments? Do you feel it at certain points during the year?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah. I think, as I said, definitely the Singapore event last year killed me because I picked up a bug while I was there. The next week I had to play in Melbourne. I only got over that thing by the Saturday. I think I really, you know, lost a lot of energy there.

Then only one week off, and I had to go to the Match Play. It took its toll there. You know, when I got to Bay Hill, I was already kind of done. It was a tough schedule.

I think basically, I mean, if you look at my year last year, I played pretty solid all year. Maybe after the PGA, you know, I didn't play quite up to my standard. But other than that, you know, I had a pretty solid year.

I think the traveling has got something to do with it.

Q. Did you ever figure out how many miles you logged last year?

ERNIE ELS: No. I do it by the hour (smiling).

Q. How many hours?

ERNIE ELS: Close to 350 hours.

Q. You have your own plane, right?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah. It makes it a little easier, but still...

Q. Did even Gary Player marvel at 350 hours or did he say it was nothing?

ERNIE ELS: Probably nothing to Gary's standards. Gary probably flew 700 a year.

Q. Did you talk to Ben Curtis about playing both tours? If so, what did you tell him?

ERNIE ELS: No, I didn't really. We spoke about it last night a little bit. It's nice to know, you know, he's one of the few guys that has one major event, actually playing across the globe. At his age, I remember myself and Liezl, before we got married, I think we were almost the same age. I think Ben is a little younger than me when I won my first one. It's easy without kids. You kind of enjoy seeing places, seeing the world. Obviously, the world is a little different now than it was 10 years ago, traveling-wise.

I think it's good. He's playing in Bangkok. He's going to play in Europe this year. As an Open champion, I think that's a cool thing to do.

Q. Looking back, you've had some time to get some perspective, what do you think about The Presidents Cup? Is it satisfying when you look back now or do you have any regrets?

ERNIE ELS: I don't think we can have any regrets. I think the only regret we can have is that we ran out of daylight. That wasn't the players' fault. Both teams were pretty satisfied with their result, especially the captains. You know, I think it was a great event. I don't know if you were there, but if you speak to the guys, I mean, I think everybody had a good time. It was well-presented. The crowds were great. The players played in a very competitive spirit. But it was fair.

As I say, we ran out of daylight.

Q. Considering we had four first-time major winners, do we arrive in the new year with a different landscape? From 2000, 2002, Tiger, Tiger, Tiger, majors, majors, majors. Are we at a new kind of place? Has the landscape changed a little bit?

ERNIE ELS: I think, yeah. I mean, a couple of the guys obviously came out in 2002, a lot of first-time winners, even on tour. Obviously last year we had the first-time major winners. Who knows, you know?

But I still look at the guys, the pack. I mean, obviously Tiger is a little ahead of pack still. But, I mean, the pack is still the quality players. You got to look at your winners out of that pack, you know. Sure, if other guys come out and they play, you know, to their standard and maybe above their standard, you know, they can win major championships, like Shaun showed, Ben Curtis showed, those guys showed.

You look at those guys, established players, but you're not going to go far from there.

Q. Obviously, we had Tiger doing what he did for three, four years. Last year you won the most tournaments, Vijay won the Money List here. How much of a confidence or message booster, whatever, does that send to not only to you and Vijay, but to Davis, Mike, Jim, all these other guys who must have wondered whether it can be done?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I think, you know, those guys that you just mentioned, I think Davis and those guys, we all had good years last year. I think they probably proved something to themselves more than anybody else. I think this year, I mean, if I look at Vijay, you know, winning the Money List, he's at that age where he's definitely at his prime now. He's got to try to win these tournaments now, the next couple years. I think Davis, almost the same. You know, I'm getting there myself.

You know, we are kind of in our 30s and late 30s now. In golfing terms, you're right where you want to be. If you talk about a peak. Tiger is 28 now, so he's getting on (laughter). Things are really changing. We're looking at the younger group coming through now, Charles Howell, Jonathan Byrd, Ben Curtis, these kind of players. They're kind of starting to lead the younger generation. We're kind of stuck in the middle really trying to establish our careers. If you want to do it now, look back in 10 years' time.

Q. Is it fair to say that you and others would come into a year thinking Tiger is the guy to beat, maybe not at a tournament, major, Money Title, but just in terms of playing better than him? Is that a fair thing to say in previous years?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah. I think in a certain way still, you know. I think Tiger is still the No. 1 player in the world. He still brings a lot of - I'm not sure what the word is - but he brings all the credentials to each event. He's the guy. If you want to win, you know, we approach it differently. You come into a week, you want to try to play the best golf that you can play, but when he's on his game, you know, he's still the guy to beat.

Q. When you look at things, do you look at the standard being Tiger or do you look at Tiger and Vijay? Do you think someone like Harrington, Chris DiMarco looks at just Tiger, or does he look at Tiger, Ernie and Vijay? Does that make sense?

ERNIE ELS: I see where you're going. If you're going to certain events, you go to the Memorial, all the guys are there. You go to the John Deere Classic, you got a different field that you got to beat. So that's why I say, you really got to go into a week, you know, trying to play the golf course, trying to score well, trying to play as good as you can play, see if it's good enough.

John Deere Classic, maybe it's going to be good enough, but other weeks it might not be. You know what I'm saying? It depends on which weeks you're playing.

I think things have changed a little bit. I think the Tiger effect is not as strong as it used to be. It's not as huge as it used to be maybe three, four years ago. I think guys go into a week and feel, you know, if they play their games, it might be good enough.

Q. Are you going to the John Deere?

ERNIE ELS: I don't know. I haven't checked that one yet. I think it's in July, isn't it (smiling)?

Q. Can you explain why the Tiger effect isn't what it was? So many other guys are getting better?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I think so. I think, you know, Tiger has been on tour now seven years or eight years now. You know, the effect, as I say, has kind of calmed down a little bit. Tiger is still Tiger. The tour is still the tour. We still got to play golf tournaments. But I think, yeah, the standard of play on tour the last three years have definitely increased a hell of a lot. I think if you think of the play, the standard of play, when you have to play the first two rounds, see where the cuts used to be and where they are now, it's got to be a shot better at least. The whole standard of the whole tour has really risen.

Q. Ernie, you know how winning a major affects your life. We have four first-time major winners here. If they asked you what are the pitfalls, temptations, what you should and shouldn't do, what would you tell them?

ERNIE ELS: I think you just got to try and keep your feet on the ground. You got to have a good base around you. You got to have good friends, good family, people that can keep you on the ground kind of a thing. And just to try and be yourself, really, just play your game, do your thing. Have a guy out there that gives you advice. I always had Nick Price, you know, giving me good advice. I don't know if it was good or bad, but... (Smiling).

I listened to him, and I kind of have a guy out there that you look up to. But definitely try and stay grounded.

Q. Did you make any mistakes that if you could do over you wouldn't do now?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, many (smiling). But we won't get into that.

Q. Kind of along those lines, have you signed on with a management company?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I got David.

Q. Nick's guy?

ERNIE ELS: Nick's guy. We did it end of last year.

Q. How did you settle on that?

ERNIE ELS: Just got to pay him, pay him a lot of money (smiling). We looked right through the board, you know. We looked at everybody. I've never really gone with a group, so I felt staying on my own will be good. David, I've known David a long time.

Q. You showed up here last year with a new driver, new ball, told us about how it changed your world. You hit it in December in South Africa with your family.

ERNIE ELS: Uh-huh.

Q. Anything equipment-wise that's come to the table now in 2004 that's going to change the game for you or for others?

ERNIE ELS: Another new driver.

Q. Do you have another new Titleist driver?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I got a little different one. Hit it yesterday and today. Feels pretty nice. The rest of it's exactly the same. Putter is the same, wedges, everything is the same. I tend to, when I get settled with a set of clubs, like a lot of players, I stay with them. Might have to go with a bigger shirt. I put a little bit of weight on in December (laughter).

Q. As a tangent, talking about the Tiger effect, so much of it early on was the distance. '97 and '98 he was so much longer than anybody. Is that part of what, in addition to guys winning, the distance factor is gone for Tiger? Is that part of what's happened over the years?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, definitely. I think definitely the driving part, yeah. A lot of guys are hitting it as far or longer than Tiger. Definitely equipment is up with the rest of the guys. Still Tiger hits a lot of shots that we can't hit. He hits that 2- or 3-iron that goes up high and comes down soft. That's a major bonus for him. He's a great putter.

But a lot of guys are driving it as long or longer than him. He hasn't got that big of a bonus in him.

Q. That's sort of a mental thing, too, isn't it?

ERNIE ELS: Could have been, yeah. Yeah, definitely. I mean, if I think back to '99, 2000, when I played a lot with him, I mean, he was so much longer. The ball flight, everything was so different than the rest of the tour. Since then the Pro V has come out, the 983 K driver, it's really made a big difference. But he still hits that high 3-iron, 2-iron.

Q. What's the new driver you have?

ERNIE ELS: It's still a 983. It's a K, but it has a little different loft, a little different bend.

Q. Stuff that's over our head.

ERNIE ELS: Over my head, too, but it feels good (smiling).

Q. Along those lines, are you going to get it tested this week? What do you make of portable driver thing? Do you think that will be a big issue this year?

ERNIE ELS: I don't know much about it. What is that? Are they going to test our drivers now?

Q. It's not mandatory, but it's voluntary.

ERNIE ELS: Sure, yeah, I'd like to know if it's what I've got. I would like to know if I've got a bit of spring there.

Q. Some of that stuff was brought up middle of last year, kind of quiet accusations. Do you think that will evolve into a big deal this year?

ERNIE ELS: Well, if they can draw a line somewhere. If there's a line drawn, if you have a driver that's over it, you know, you got to get the same driver, but just tone it down a little bit, have everybody at the same limit. I think that's what everybody wants, I think.

Q. Have you ever played with someone and wondered what was in that thing they were hitting?

ERNIE ELS: No, no, not really. Maybe a couple years ago when Tiger was hitting his old Titleist driver, he was hitting it 310. I don't know what he was complaining about.

Q. What do you find the most frustrating part of the game when it isn't going well?

ERNIE ELS: Most frustrating? There's always something that's not quite, you know, there. Some golf courses really brings it out in your game, you know, especially major championships. When you're a little bit off with your driver, yeah, it's not going to be such a big factor. But when you play in the British Open or the US Open, it really comes out. That's why it's so tough to win those major championships.

The most frustrating, I mean, I guess when you feel you're playing good enough, but you're not scoring. That means you're either not hitting it close enough or you're not making any putts. You walk off the 18th, you go back, there's five shots you left on the golf course. That's when you start getting frustrated, you start pushing, doing stupid things.

Q. What are those stupid things? Putting the pressure on your long game?

ERNIE ELS: You got to put pressure on yourself because you're not scoring the way you think you should score. You know, you're just a little bit off here and there. You can't quite put your finger on it. Normally, in my case, I'm not making enough putts, I'm not on my driver.

Q. When you're not making enough putts, you when you feel they're there to be made, you're not making them, what do you do? Is there someone you speak to? Is there someone, either a player, an instructor, that you have look at your stroke or your position, whatever it is?

ERNIE ELS: We all got different ways of getting over that. Normally when you're not making putts, it's a bit of a mental thing. Obviously, you go out there, you try and get your speed right, working your stroke, get your eye over the ball, all that kind of stuff. I just try to work through it.

But mainly putting, you got to get over the fear of not making a putt, just maybe not giving a damn, play like you used to play when you were a kid kind of a thing. It's a mental thing, putting, mainly.

Q. Has anyone ever given you a tip that really brought you into a better position putting?

ERNIE ELS: My dad has always been a feel guy. He probably understands me better than anybody, especially with golf. Just start feeling the putt, has different methods that helps me getting through the barrier.

Q. What are your opinions of the sites of the majors this year? We're going to Shinnecock, Troon, Whistling Straits??

ERNIE ELS: Shinnecock, I didn't play too good in '95. I missed the cut there. Troon, I played there twice, amateur in '89. Played in '97, beautiful weather. But I didn't play very well. In Whislting Straits, I know nothing about the golf course. I'll have to go up there maybe before, maybe go up there in June or something, go check it out. It's kind of open.

Shinnecock, all classic, really one of the best layouts in the world, I mean, great layout. I just hope they don't make it too tough because it's tough enough. But a great layout. I think you'll find a really quality player winning there.

Troon, depending on the weather, the first nine going out, depending on the breeze, but normally it blows downwind. You got to make all your birdies Front 9, try and hang on on the Back 9. Very tough, good golf course.

As I say, Whislting Straits, who knows?

Q. You were defending at Shinnecock, weren't you?

ERNIE ELS: I was, yeah.

Q. What was that like, 25-year-old?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I played with Nick and Tiger there, ended up as a two ball, just me and Nick, second day. I was so frustrated there. I wasn't swinging well. Wasn't in a good frame of mind. But it was a great golf course. I remember that course very fondly. It's a good course.

Q. What does it require?

ERNIE ELS: It's almost a disguised British Open, it can be. It's so tough. I mean, you actually need a little bit more room there. With the USGA making it so tight and narrow, with the wind blowing off the ocean there, you know, you need to hit fairways there and you need to hit greens. Really, it's going to require everything. It's going to require a short game, accuracy; patience mainly, a lot of knowledge of playing in the breeze.

Q. Given those courses, would you be surprised to see four new first-time winners?

ERNIE ELS: You know, we had that question earlier. It's going to be tough. You know, you're putting us in the hot seat here. I don't see that, not at Shinnecock. I see almost a Tom Watson can win there, you know. Tom Watson hits it so straight now, great wind player. The greens are pretty flat at Shinnecock. Nick Price can go there. There's so many different guys. I mean, guys who have played in a lot of breeze, a lot of US Opens will do well there.

I don't envision a first-time winner there. I don't know what the odds will be, but I wouldn't put money on that.

Q. You said you're playing more over here next year, too.

ERNIE ELS: There you go. Again, I said it the last five years. At least I'm going up one tournament at a time.

Q. You're going to the Sony next week at defending champion. Obviously, a lot of attention on Michelle Wie. What are your thoughts about a 14-year-old girl playing in a PGA TOUR event?

ERNIE ELS: I think she's a phenomenal player. I haven't met her yet. Seen in golf magazines, beautiful golf swing. I know her teacher very well. Played golf with him, Gary Gillcrest, phenomenal talent. Playing on our tour at 14, it's a hell of an achievement.

I'm still not sure what they're trying to prove. I think Annika, another unbelievable talent. I said it before, if they prove it to themselves, trying to prove something to themselves, great, everything for them. But what's the future? Are they going to go through tour school and play on our tour? I don't know.

But it's a hell of an achievement for her at 14 to play with us. I mean, can you imagine? I played my first British Open at 19, and I was way out of my place. I felt so. But, you know, all power to them. I think it's good. I think it's good for the game. It's good for the global game. But I don't know where they're going with it.

Q. What do you think of her nickname?

ERNIE ELS: I like it (laughter).

Q. You have not seen her playing in person?

ERNIE ELS: No. I haven't met her. I'd like to see her hit it next week.

Q. Interesting year for Vijay Singh last year, won the Money Title, also controversial with his comments about Annika Sorenstam. We have sometimes a contentious relationship with him. From inside the locker room, what can you say about Vijay as a person, how he handles himself, how he handled all of last year?

ERNIE ELS: You know, I'm not sure what you guys and Vijay have got going there, but it's obviously not very nice. You know, it's a bit of a shame because I've known Vijay a very long time, maybe 12 years now. As a person, as a friend, he hasn't changed. He's still Vijay. We still have a good laugh. He's a hard worker, all of that stuff. He's a good family man. And he's a competitor. So that's that.

Then you throw in the Annika Sorenstam, the questions come, and I'm not sure totally what went down there. I just read it like everybody else. I saw a lot of the other players, the relationship between you guys and Vijay. You know, that's your deal.

All I can say is from the outside, Vijay is a good friend. I don't know if he got misquoted or how it all went down, but he felt that he got the short end there. That's the way he reacted. He felt that he got a bad rap out of the whole deal. That was his reaction to you guys. That's basically how I see it.

Q. Amid all that controversy, he turned in many Top 10s. Do you think he was almost motivated by it?

ERNIE ELS: Could be. I'm not sure. I think definitely after the British Open, Vijay felt he was right on top of his game and he was going to go flat out and try and win the Money Title. I don't know if he got motivated from your side or from his game side. I would think, you know, from his golf, he felt that he was on his game and he was going to go for it. That's what he did.

He played a lot of tournaments. As you say, almost every week he was in the Top 10 from the British Open.

THE MODERATOR: Ernie, thank you.

End of FastScripts.