HSBC WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

October 15, 2003

Ernie Els

SCOTT CROCKETT: Okay, Ernie, thanks for coming down. Obviously, you start the week as defending champion. How do you feel about the week ahead?

ERNIE ELS: I feel good about it. Always nice to come back to Wentworth. I've had more success obviously in the Match-Play than the PGA tournament we play here every year. I think there are a couple of new faces here obviously but with the new criteria that they laid down at the start of the year, everybody knew how to get into the event and I think everybody that's here have proved themselves and especially in the majors.

I think it's a good field. I think everybody that's playing here is on form. As I say, there might they might be new faces to this event, but they are good players. You've got to take every match as they come individually, and really try and play as good as you can in each and every match.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Are you expecting your second round opponent to be generous to you on your birthday?

ERNIE ELS: I hope so. (Laughing) I haven't even given it any thought. Yeah, the 17th, I'll be 34 on Friday. So hopefully it will be a good 34.

I think this year, the major winners are quite a surprise. Every now and then you get this. I remember when I won my first major in 1994, I'm sure nobody knew who I was, I was 24 years old then. That year Jose won his first major and Nick Price won the last two. But that was in itself a little bit of an upset. Every now and then you get new players that break through. I don't think there's anything wrong with giving those people who have done what they did an opportunity to play in a very lucrative golf tournament like this.

Sure, I mean, there's the Darren Clarkes and the Padraig Harringtons and David Toms, you can go on and on. There's a lot of players, really well-known players that are not here, but they didn't play good enough in the tournaments that counted for this event, and we all knew what the criteria was to get in here.

So if I don't get in here next year, what am I going to do, be upset? I know what I have to do to get in here, so that's that.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: I absolutely agree with you. I think some of you guys and IMG have given a lot of the players some schtick through the years where the comment was, it was an IMG Invitational and now it's not. Now you have to qualify. He comes back every year, it seems like the No. 1 ranked player in the world comes back -- so you have those two that you have to qualify for. I think it's fine.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: I mean, really, I shouldn't say this, but I mean if I was playing Monty at least I would have known I was playing well. He can bring the best out of me. I think we'll miss some of the faces, the Faldos, the Montys, Padraig has been here quite a few times, there's a couple of other players who have really been regulars here who are not here this week. It's one of those things. New sponsor, new criteria, I think you've got to go with it.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, well, it's one of those nice summers we've had. It's been a good summer and I think most of the golf courses in the area as you know, and it's been very dry and it's one of those things. That's why South African golf courses, they run a lot and they bounce around a bit. Yeah, it will be a little bit different. It's not as much rough as previous years. The greens are bumpy, the greens are firmer than previous years so that will make scoring even more difficult. In previous years in October, the ball, when you hit the green, the ball just stays there, with a 4-iron or a wedge. This week it's a little different. The ball is releasing a lot more and coming in with shorter irons, but you've still got to be very accurate.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I think you can just go ahead and just manage yourself around the place. Don't try and overpower it on every hole. You've got more opportunity to hit the driver but with previous times you might have just laid up with a 2-iron.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: With those names, more well known names, really good players -- there's a million pounds to play for and this is the world match-play and I've won this four times. So other than the money, I mean, the prestige of the event is still there in my view. And it's got the history that it needs to be a world match-play. So there's a lot to play for.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: Obviously if Tiger comes to an event that just makes a different golf tournament. Davis Love, sure, Phil Mickelson, sure. But obviously any event would Love to have Tiger in it. That just creates another -- I think this event has got enough players to back it up and make some successful event.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: I think you look at it in both ways. The know guys, say, one of the new guys win it that could be a stepping stone for their careers, also. It's such a prestigious event through the years that you know this is the World Match-play, that you want to win in my view. It's been around a lot longer and it's got a better format for 36-hole matches. The better player on the day will definitely win his match.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: Hey, listen, I'm here to play golf and it's for you guys to write about this stuff. You know, you go ask the British public what they want. I mean, I'm just giving you the facts of how you qualify for this event. I'm sure that the British public would have really enjoyed Monty and Padraig Harrington to be here and Darren Clarke to be here. But the criteria is the criteria and I think the British public has always really supported this event and I think they will do the same.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: Some great names in the sport, Seve has done so much for the Tour and obviously his performances in Ryder Cup Matches probably makes him the best match-play player in my book. And second would be Gary Player in my book because winning all these matches here, I think he's set quite a few record here. I think coming back from the biggest margin down and stuff like that. So those two are icons in the sport and I'm working myself hopefully up to that level, and by the time I'm done, hopefully I'll be up there somewhere. But, yeah, it will be great.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I'm picked for the second week.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: I've been meaning to do that for a long time but I'm going to start doing that next year because of the family. Samantha is four and a half now and she loves going to school here. I would like to spend more time with them and it's going to be difficult to keep her on the road with us like we have done the last four or five years.

Yeah, I would love to start changing my schedule, play less over there and over here and spend a bit more time at home.

I've still got a contract with the Heineken Classic and I've still got a contract with Johnnie Walker, so I'll still do those two and I'm still going to do Dubai, but other than that, I might make it a little bit more easy away from America.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: You know, we come over here not thinking about that, none of the players think that, but asking that question, yeah, that could be a reason why they are not -- why they don't come.

I mean, I do this trip, I want to say, almost 10, 12 times a year, it feels like nothing to me. Going across the Atlantic is really not the biggest trip in the world, and someplace players don't like to travel and there could be a reason. They don't like to go back after the first round.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: There will be a week off before the Presidents Cup and we'll start getting more into it when the time is ready. I think it's a very long journey to get down there, it's not as much hype as the Ryder Cup has. Believe me when you're on the first tee, you don't want to lose but it definitely doesn't have that big hype and hoopla that the Ryder Cup has. It's a much more relaxed event.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: I'm going down there the day after THE TOUR Championship and I'll be down there till just after New Year's when we go back to Hawaii. It will be a nice break.

Q. Inaudible?

ERNIE ELS: I think I've had a nice year, obviously a very good start, and around the Masters and so on I didn't play my best golf, but it still wasn't anything disastrous.

I feel I could have done a little better in a major or two, maybe in the PGA or even in the U.S. Open I could have done a little bit better. To win six times around the world, I think I've had a nice year. I think since last year and this year, I've been able to play when I feel like and I'd like to keep that going and get better.

End of FastScripts.