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HP BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIPMay 16, 2012Ernie ElsIRVING, TEXAS THE MODERATOR: Ernie, welcome back to the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Your comments on being back here again? ERNIE ELS: It's been a while. God, I went through the workout area yesterday and I was looking at the old pictures. It's amazing how quickly time goes. In '95 I won here, and I played it a lot in the '90s, and because of that tournament in England that had it the same damn date for so many years, and we redesigned the course, so I had a commitment to go there. But I always wanted to come back here, and now that they changed the date in England, and I'm grateful for that. I'm back here. Q. This is a different course, but there are similar traits. One thing that Keegan Bradley mentioned was putting the ball in the right spots in the fairway. How important with will that be this week? ERNIE ELS: Yeah, if the wind blows like it normally does, it's a tough challenge, and if it doesn't blow, you have opportunities to make birdies. The greens are more undulating than they were back in the day, but I feel the changes they've made are for the better. The final stretch is a tough stretch with 18 to the water, the greens coming in, it's a wonderful finish. If I can find the fairway on any side, that's a bonus, because you need to be in the fairway. If you get into the Bermuda rough, it's tough. The way I see it is still the way I saw it back in the 90s, hasn't changed too many angles, but I think the changes are for the better. Q. Was part of your coming back anything to do with the 100th anniversary or was this better timing for you? ERNIE ELS: No, as I say, I have wanted to come back every year, believe me and the commitment is such that I had to play in the U.K. because of the redesign of the course. It's tough when the guy that redesigns a course doesn't show up, so I had a commitment to do that. Whether it's the 100th or the 97th, or the 91st, I've always wanted to come play here. Q. You had a good relationship with Byron, and I know you kept coming here with all of your globe trotting. What's your fondest memory of Byron? ERNIE ELS: First of all, the start of my career I started in Dallas, back in '90 and '91. I met a lot of great people and went through school from Dallas, and there is a nice connection there. I started playing in the early 90s, met Mr.Nelson, and we used to do a clinic on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and I remember in '95 I had a clinic, and he was sitting behind us and watching us hit balls, and after the clinic was done he came to me and said, "You know, I think you swing the club as good as I've seen anybody swing the club." And that gave me confidence to know early on, at an early age in my career that I was doing things right. I went on to win the tournament. He was always helping me. Q. You've been pretty sold this season in some areas, to date. ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I've been spotty, but also pretty good this season. You know, I probably could have won three times already this year, Europe and two of them here. But the flat stick didn't help me out, I'm working on that.  I feel like I'm hitting the ball nicely, I'm healthy again, I had the flu for 10 days, so I feel a lot stronger, so I'm looking forward to this week. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Ernie. Appreciate it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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