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WGC BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

August 7, 2010

Ernie Els

AKRON, OHIO

Q. Well played out there today. You said at the start of the week you needed a bit of urgency, wanted to play well this round. You sort of delivered that.
ERNIE ELS: Exactly. I putted nicely today. I think somebody said I had 25 putts, and that's kind of what you need to score well. You know, I felt I was in control of my ball off the tees and I gave myself a lot of opportunities. When I didn't, I got the ball up-and-down. It was a really nice round.

Q. New putter out there today, changed putters. That seemed to do the trick, as well.
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I go between the putters, two Callaway putters, Odyssey putters. The one has a bit of a softer insert than the other, and I went with the one with the harder insert today. Just got my speed up a little bit and started rolling it at the hole.

Q. Was there any key to the round?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I would say probably No. 7, you know, I birdied No. 1 and then I bogeyed 3, and I had a couple opportunities after No. 3 for birdies, missed them all.
And then on 7 I made a long putt for birdie, probably -- you've got to check it on ShotLink, probably 35 feet or so. I haven't made any putts all week, so when I made that one, I felt the hole was a bit bigger.

Q. It's a crucial stage of the season. How nice is it to be playing this kind of golf in terms of what's coming up?
ERNIE ELS: Well, I knew it was big. You know, I needed to start finding form soon because I haven't been on form for the last month or so. I had a terrible time in Europe where I normally play well, and you know, I knew the next -- I don't know how many weeks. I'm playing six of the next seven weeks, and I need to play well, so obviously in the FedExCup and obviously in that last major. I needed to start playing well.

Q. I know there might be a changing of the guard at No. 1, but it seems like there's really no dominant, hot guy right now. Would you agree with that's kind of up for grabs?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah. I mean, if you look at immediate results, yeah, but I think over the long time, if you look back the last two years, I think you've got to look at Phil. Obviously Tiger last year was incredible again, but I think if there was somebody that stepped up, it was Phil. You know, he's won a major, a couple of majors now in the last couple of years.
I think after such a long time out here, I think he would be your deserved No. 1 if there's another No. 1.

Q. What was the difference in your play today?
ERNIE ELS: Putting. I really putted nicely today. I was very frustrated yesterday. I thought I hit it nicely yesterday. I hit it quite nicely the first day, but yesterday I felt like I shot a good one.
I changed putters actually. I'm in between two-putters at the moment. The one I went with today has got a bit more pop on the ball, comes off a little bit quicker. I felt like I had a bit better speed and made some good putts.

Q. Give us a glance on how the course is playing, how it's been set up today.
ERNIE ELS: Well, it's just unbelievable. If you're on your game today, you can score because the greens are holding, the fairways are in unbelievable shape. If you're off target you're going to have a tough time. The rough is growing as we speak. Out of there you're not going to score. Keep it in the short stuff and if you get it on the greens you'll have a lot of opportunities.

Q. You had a hot start to the year but have been struggling recently. How much encouragement are you getting from this?
ERNIE ELS: Look, this is what I've needed. I didn't have a good time in Europe. Normally I play well in Europe this time of year, and I had a horrible time over there. I really had to kind of regroup a little bit. I had two weeks off, went to South Africa last week, and I just kind of regrouped and feel like I have a lot more energy to play and I feel an urgency to play well. Want to keep that mindset going.

Q. How are you feeling about your position in the championship now?
ERNIE ELS: Well, I needed a round like this. I needed to get something in the middle 60s to have a chance tomorrow. As I say, if somebody plays proper golf you can still score quite low, so hopefully I'll be within three.

Q. Did you switch Odyssey putters out there?
ERNIE ELS: Exactly. I went to a little smaller head but a little heavier, and I felt like I hit a lot of good putts the first two rounds, but I felt my speed was a bit off, so today I went with a little heavier putter.

Q. That putter still has that White Hot insert that Odyssey is famous for. Does it come off the face a little quicker?
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, this one comes off a little quicker but it's still got that really smooth roll it puts on it, you know. It's basically just a bit more weight. I feel like some of the greens are not quite running as fast as they normally do, and I just needed a bit more weight on it.

Q. I thought the course played a little faster today. The greens are still at a very puttable speed?
ERNIE ELS: Absolutely. Last year I thought it was the quickest I had ever seen them, almost like Augusta-quick last year, but this year they had a lot of rain. They're beautiful surfaces but they're just a little slower than last year.

Q. You got off to a great start this year with two quick victories in the spring. Has it been frustrating since then or are you happy with your year?
ERNIE ELS: No, I had a couple good finishes and top 5s. At Texas I finished third, three shots away from Adam, and I really had a very decent chance at the U.S. Open.
I think it was quite a disappointment for me and kind of took me a while to get over that, and I feel like I'm back on my game now.

Q. It's a great way to finish things out with this tournament this week and next week the PGA Championship.
ERNIE ELS: Yeah, it's another big stretch, this week obviously a huge week and then next week is obviously the last major, and then I've got a week off and then we go into the Playoffs. I need a bit of game. This came at the right time, I think.
I was a bit frustrated with the putter yesterday. I travel with two putters, the Odyssey putters, and this one I used today has got a bit more pop on the ball, comes off a little quicker, and my speed was a little better today, so I gave it a bit more of a run. That was the difference.

Q. Is that kind of a fidgeting thing after a couple of rounds or is it something you've been thinking about for a while?
ERNIE ELS: Well, when I started the year I went to that White Hot and the other White Hot. This one, as I say, the ball comes off a little quicker than the other one, or maybe quicker greens, but both pretty well, really nice. They both have had wins this year.

Q. You're one of the only people who knows what it's like to be No. 1 in the world. If Phil Mickelson does get to that point for the very first time in his career, what does that feel like to be No. 1?
ERNIE ELS: It's an unbelievable feeling. I was fortunate enough to have it, I don't know, maybe nine weeks or something. It's just you feel on top of the world basically. It's all the hard work. I know Phil doesn't want to think about it right now. He wants to play a solid golf tournament and see if he can get there, but if he gets it, he's a well-deserved No. 1 if he gets there, because by all means he's played some of the best golf of anybody out here. He'll be a deserved No. 1.

End of FastScripts

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