	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 21, 2010

Ernie Els

VIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND

Q. Four birdies and three bogeys, how do you feel about 70?
ERNIE ELS: I've got to feel satisfied. You know, I had a really good start to my round, and then just misread a couple of putts, 6, 7 and 10,
6- , 7-footers I missed around the corner there.
And then it the back nine played really tough. It was tough to get the ball close to the hole. You know, I missed a couple of greens, got the ball up-and-down. You know, it was a tough golf course this afternoon. It's getting a little firmer now and the ball, you have to really be in control of your ball flight, and it's really tough to get it close to the hole.

Q. 81th hole, went for the green again after yesterday's debacle into the water; were you a little nervous?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, you know, it's not the easiest of shots. Yesterday I tried to cut a 5-wood, and as I said, I came over the top and pulled it. Today, totally different yardage, a little downwind. I hit a 7-iron, 194 yards to the front, and you know, I was just trying to get it to the front edge trying to land it there and try and keep it on the green basically. Probably the shot of my day. I just left the putt a bit short.

Q. We just had Richard Caring talking to us acknowledging that you were right and he was wrong and he now acknowledges you were correct on the design of the 18th hole and he's going to acknowledge yourself and other players and correct it; how do you feel about it?
ERNIE ELS: Disappointed. I'm in the firing line. I knew that was going to be a problem and No. 8 was going to be a problem and also some of the other greens.
You know, it's a tough decision sometimes. You've got to keep the owner happy, you've got to keep the players happy, and as a designer, you have a philosophy that you want to follow. And with all of these factors, you know, it can get a little bit tricky at times.
Today I felt very disappointed by everything that's been said, and kind of hurt a little bit. But you know, you've got to be man enough and stand up and take it on the chin, and you know, as I said, this golf course is something for the future. Richard Caring wanted the golf course tougher than it's been. He didn't want 18-under winning, and I think he succeeded in that.
You know, hopefully if he's willing to spend more money we can rectify the things that I'm not happy with.

Q. You said you're upset with some of the things people have said; have players approached you and criticized you?
ERNIE ELS: No, just in the newspapers. I would love for people to come to me personally rather than go to newspapers and tell their side of the story. As I say, nobody knows exactly what's gone on here and I'd like to explain to players before they go to the media. And even the media doesn't have an idea of what's happened here.
So a bit of a tough position, but I think we'll move on. Everybody's grown ups. I think the putting surfaces are unbelievable. They are putting wonderfully. As I said, I think the golf course is now really a tough Wentworth West and I think we can proud of it on Tour.

Q. How would you change 18 for next year?
ERNIE ELS: I like the water that we brought in. You know, I've always said I wanted the green lower. The green was going to be down where the sleepers are. So the actually the green can actually invite the ball into the green, if you know what I mean. It goes with the land. The land slopes away from the trees on the right, and we'll lower the green a little bit and leave it as flat as it is, where the ball can actually stay on the green if you hit a proper golf shot.
We want to do that and I would like to address No. 8 and just one or two other greens I would like to address. 18 has always been a talking point unfortunately.

Q. When those things are done, this will be a fabulous course, the best inland course people in Europe are saying; do you agree?
ERNIE ELS: Absolutely. There's not too many people, as I said, again that, would put his money down and make the changes. I think this golf course doesn't have to shy away from any golf course in the world. I'm talking about the toughest golf courses in the world, and as I said, again, the BMW is a sponsor that deserves a championship golf course. I think the Tour deserves it. I think the players deserve it, and I think the owner deserves it. He's put a lot of money in.
So you know, hopefully things haven't got too out of control, but you know, we'll address it and we'll have a great championship golf course going forward into the future.

Q. It's been an interesting couple of days for you. You must feel very protective of this new project here, it's your baby, but can you tell us what your reaction has been to some of the opinions that have been stated about the redesign of the course here?
ERNIE ELS: Well, everybody's got their right to voice their opinion. You know, I know the players so long, I've been on Tour for 20 years, so I would have loved to have seen the players come to me before they went to the media. But as I say, they have got their opinions and we all are professional golfers and we see things differently.
I think as a whole, I think the changes have been good. I think obviously we know a couple of greens that are a little bit borderline. I agree with that. There are some things I'm not even happy with.
But when you have an owner who invests a lot of money into making changes and really wants the golf course better, as a tougher challenge, and even for the sponsor; the sponsor deserves a championship golf course. When you have to take all of these factors into consideration and come up with something that everybody is going to be happy with, you've probably got an impossible task.
As I say, I think most of it is according to plan and we will take the necessary steps to rectify the other ones.

Q. But what's disappointed you most has been the lack of personality contact with your contemporaries?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, you know, I played a practise round on Tuesday, I was here Wednesday for the Pro-Am, and nothing was said then. And you read everything in the newspapers, and I know it's fuel for the media, the printing media, especially when players come off and they are unhappy. I mean, I wasn't happy. I've had plugged lies out there, I've hit it in hazards, I've hit it all over the place.
Yeah, that's golf and you have tough breaks, but you know, to be fair, I think the golf course will hold up Sunday afternoon.

Q. If there are tweaks to be made in the future, are you willing to make them?
ERNIE ELS: Absolutely, yeah. You know, Richard Caring, myself, Richard really got involved a lot, and he really wanted some drama. He wanted drama coming down the stretch. He felt No. 12 was way too easy. He felt 17 and 18 were way too easy. He wanted drama and he wanted somebody to really work hard to win the BMW PGA Championship, and I agree with that.
Where we disagree is how to achieve that. The tournament committee wanted 12 as a par 4, I really designed the green as a par 5. I wanted players to hit an 8-iron into 12, which is happening right now. 17 was my design. I felt 17 needed a bit of a change. And 18, I feel the green is too high and so do the players. But you know, they needed to tell me that, they didn't have to go straight to the media.

Q. The irony is, as a re-designer out there, I guess you're duty-bound to go for it on 18 in two?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I played with Ross Fisher and Rhys Davies and we were talking about it yesterday. I said, you know, I had to go for the green, although I had a 5-wood in yesterday, because I'm the designer and in position, and obviously today, I hit a really good drive, I had 194 to the front and I was debating a 6- or 7-iron and 7-iron was the right club. So I was glad to get it on dry land today.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297