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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIPMay 26, 2012Ernie ElsVIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND Q. Tell us about your game and how tough playing conditions were today? ERNIE ELS: I played very well today. I mean, I could have squeezed some more out of there. I really missed a lot of putts. But it was a very difficult day. I mean, scoring conditions, this is as tough as it gets. It's very firm, it's very fast. The wind is gusting to 30 miles per hour. So it's as tough as you're ever going to see anything play. So it was satisfying to get a 70. Q. Looks like it's going to be a tight leaderboard going into tomorrow. You're at 5‑under; how close will that be? ERNIE ELS: I don't see too many birdies on the back nine for the leaders. So they are 9‑under right now, if I'm four behind going to tomorrow, you know, I think I've still got a chance. I think anybody that's for under still has an outside chance, because I played with a guy today, looked like he was playing well and he shot 83. I shot 70. So anything can happen. Q. Great par save at the last. ERNIE ELS: Yeah, you know, I'm a little disappointed. I spoke to Chris Kennedy and I spoke to the Tour. I mean, I'm pissed off. Conditions are tough. It was blowing all night last night. It blew this morning, it blew a lot yesterday. I asked them to put water on the bloody greens. You know, and they obviously‑‑ I spoke to JP coming around 15 and he says, yeah, we watered last night. I said, "Well, you've got to triple that." You've got a damn 30‑mile‑per‑hour easterly breeze blowing. Put water on the greens. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. Now we've got another situation. Guys aren't going to be happy. It is very difficult conditions out there, but the Tour's got to play the ball now. I mean, really, and the greens staff. I've been asking them for a while now to play ball with me, and you know, I can't keep taking this. At some point, they have got to start listening. Q. Because you have to focus on the tournament yourself. You can't be worried about those sort of things, can you. ERNIE ELS: I'm with the guys. I hit a shot on 18, I hit a 4‑iron, pitches pin‑high, and it goes through into the back bunker. Put water on the green and you've got a chance of holing the green, you know. I mean, just play ball with me. You know, I'd love to talk to them. I do talk to them, but they don't bloody listen. And this is not my problem. I cannot control the wind, and I can't‑‑ seems like I can't control the bloody greens staff, either, you know, and that's just unfortunate. You know, I'm sorry. Q. The wind is not the usual wind, either, is it. ERNIE ELS: You know ‑‑ sorry. You know, you have got a forecast. They have seen the forecast almost a week in advance. This is no surprise. You know, we spoke‑‑ I've been talking to them since I landed here on Monday, just to please keep the moisture on the golf course. "Yes, yes, yes. You just concentrate on playing." That's the reply I get all the time. I spoke to them last night. I speak to them this morning. It's like talking to this wall behind me. You know, I'm fed up with this, you know. It's a difficult golf course. It's a fair golf course; just set it up properly and you know, we'll have a championship. Q. JP said they had watered it. ERNIE ELS: Man, he told me that on 15. And I said to him, "Please, whatever you put on, triple it." You know, the 15th green is holding. The 16th green is not holding. The 17th green is not holding. 18 is not holding. And then you've got maybe‑‑ so they are all bloody inconsistent. I'm really disappointed, really. Q. 69 the best score of the day. ERNIE ELS: I mean, I played really well. As I say, I've left some out there, but I can see, you know, the guys are not used to these kind of conditions. They are going to have a really tough time. I played with a young guy today, didn't quite know the course, playing long shots, gets himself in trouble. Guys like myself, Luke, these guys who have played here in these kind of conditions, you know what to expect and how to control your ball, and you're going to have to grind out a score. Guys have got to understand that, too. You have to play certain shots now. You can't just go out and bash it around this course. Q. Have you been getting grief from players again? ERNIE ELS: No. I'm just saying for myself. I know what's right and I know what's borderline and what's not right. I just feel that‑‑ I wish I could just get through to some of these guys, you know, really. Q.  You want us to be critical on your behalf? ERNIE ELS: No. I mean, you ask them. But I'm just telling you from my point of view, whatever water or whatever moisture they have put into these greens is not enough. And anybody that's got half an idea in this game walks to the 12th green; the 12th green is dead. Now, Mr.Caring has put in so much money and effort into this re‑design, why is the 12th green dead? Somebody is not doing their job. Somebody is not on that green monitoring what the hell is going on on the golf course. The 7th green with the flag on the front left, the top side is brown. You can't stop a sand wedge on the top there. Now, why‑‑ you know why, is this happening? If you put a flag in there, give the player a chance where he can stop the ball golf, you know. That's how we designed the damn place. Now play ball with us. That's all I'm saying. Q. On a positive note, you're still very much in it. ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I'm in it. Q. Just pisses you off. ERNIE ELS: You know, it gets to me. I want everybody to have a fair, tough examination. I don't want guys walking, going‑‑ oh, my goodness. It's difficult conditions, if a player knows he played badly and he shot a bad score, take it as a man. But understand there's some greens that are just borderline right now and I've asked them to monitor them. Q. So you can see a guy with experience winning the trophy, that's the main thing, is it? ERNIE ELS: Well, you've just got to play within yourself. As I say, you can't go hitting wild shots. You're going to get killed. And that's major championship golf. Guys, two weeks' time in the U.S. Open, you're just marginally off, you get killed. And I've been there. I've played U.S. Opens for 20 years and we tried to put that element here, but you don't have to kill guys. Q. Did you hit the second shot on 18 where you want it? ERNIE ELS: Probably five yards too far. And you go through on that side, you know‑‑ we built the damn‑‑ how much money did we spend on 18? Now why in the hell is the green not holding? That's not my fault. Q. You couldn't go at the flag‑‑ ERNIE ELS: My ball, I hit a driver and a 4‑iron, pitch it in the middle of the green and goes through. Q. That's what they wanted‑‑ ERNIE ELS: What else must you do now? Must I be a green keeper here? Must I go ‑‑ well, I'm a player here. I'm not even supposed to tell them, put water on the damn golf course. Surely they should know that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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