INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED BY QWEST

August 6, 2000

Ernie Els

ERNIE ELS: Has kind have been -- certainly a very satisfying week, but -- it has been a long time since I led a golf tournament by quite a few golf shots. And going into the final round today, I definitely didn't want to let this one slip away. So I think I started off very careful, very cautious. I didn't want to make any big mistakes early on. I bogeyed the 3rd hole, but kind of got it back on the next hole. But it has been a very, very good week for me. I haven't won since last February on our Tour here, and been coming into good form the last couple of weeks. I won in Europe three, four weeks ago. Played okay at the Open, but I haven't led a tournament over here for a very long time, and I haven't really finished up the job. So it was very satisfying to do that. I think Phil came back strong, the back nine. Again, this format just makes it so special. I probably had about a 3- or 4-shot lead, stroke-play lead, after 16 holes, and the tournament was still definitely not over. Phil definitely showed that. He made eagle on 17, and he had a chance of holing his second shot on 18. So this format is brilliant.

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, definitely. To come back through the front nine after bogeying 3, I think the putt on 4 was big to get me up to one point for the day. And I didn't play very well from then on. I kind of -- I was just there, but I wasn't really putting for a lot of birdies. 14, I drove it in the left rough again, seemed like I couldn't find the fairway the back nine, I just kept on missing fairways, not by far. But when you miss fairways, you know, you're always under a little bit of pressure and strain. Yeah, 14, was in perfect position to lay-up, 6-iron short of the green. I didn't hit a particularly great pitch shot from about 40 yards and gave myself about 15-, 16-footer down the hill, and that was one of those "must" putts. I had to make that putt for once. I hit it on line, and it went in. Then 15 is a short little hole. You can make birdie there. Once again, I missed the fairway right, so I had to play safe, and made par. 16, early in the week they had the flag front, but they had it on the right today. The flag front left. Earlier in the week, I hit 7-iron to about five feet; and once again, I hit 7-iron and pulled the trigger perfect; and, you know, I had a five- or six-footer there for birdie. So I really felt good after that. But I knew I had to make birdie on 17 and not finish with a bogey. So it kind of worked out.

ERNIE ELS: I think winning this golf tournament, with almost a record score, you know, so definitely I did play well. That has got to give me a lot of confidence, you know, for once I didn't mess it up or I didn't finish second or there wasn't a better golfer in the field. (Laughter.) You know what I mean. So you know, I got it done today. And I think I had done it in pretty good style. Birdied three of the last five holes, and didn't make a bogey the last eight holes or so. So that has got to give me confidence. I definitely didn't finish like that at the Open. The back nine at the Open I kind of messed up over the weekend. These things kind of sometimes sit in your mind. So I am glad I am over that final hurdle. I think I might have some free sailing now. I have got to go and enjoy next week. I am going back to Orlando, just going to lie in that pool for most of the week and do some practicing early in the mornings, late in the evenings; and you know, then we got to start getting ready for the PGA. I will do that next weekend.

ERNIE ELS: No, that was, again, I missed it by an inch or two.

ERNIE ELS: I think, you know, a lot of the drives I hit on exactly the same lines as previous days. But today it seemed like the golf course was a little bit firmer, and the ball just ran through on those lines. Like 14, I hit it right down the left side, and the ball kind of ran too far. It went down the left. 13, the same thing. I hit 3-wood down the left again, down the safe side, and went through. 10, seemed like the last two days I couldn't find that fairway. Yeah, so, you know, I said to the guys out there, you know, I felt like I needed to grind this one out. Not always going to play a perfect final round, but you got to come up with the goods. The best players in the world have done that winning golf tournaments. You got to find a way of trying to win and, you know, today I found a way. I got the ball up-and-down a couple of times, and I made key putts.

ERNIE ELS: I was trying to watch the scoreboard, but these damn scoreboards change so quickly, you take two steps and it is gone. Over time, I looked at the scoreboard, I was looking at the No. 10th place or 12th place, so I kind of couldn't figure out where I was. But I could hear the crowd in front of me. I knew somebody was doing something good. I actually -- when I played -- when I played my second, I could see Stuart made two birdies the first two holes, and he was at plus-34, so I kind of knew what he was then. But as I say, I kept on missing. I mean, you blink, you miss the scoreboard. They got to kind of keep it there for a while.

ERNIE ELS: I think it is either this one or the Southern Open back in Columbus, Georgia. I came over here in 1990 to prepare myself for the Qualifying School, and somehow I got into the Southern Open in Columbus, Georgia. So I think that was my first one. But this was definitely the second one. I started playing here in 1991, I think.

ERNIE ELS: The whole place, man. I grew up in South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa if you ever been there, the vegetation and the hills and the climate really reminds me a lot of home. We also had altitude back home. We don't have a sterling golf course like this back home, but at least that is what I kind -- that is what it reminds me of, to answer your question. To play a great golf course like this with great people like Jack Vickers and his boys, you know, I have always had a good time here.

ERNIE ELS: Well, it is always great to win a golf tournament anywhere. Especially for me nowadays, competing against you-know-who. (Laughter.) You got to take your chances nowadays, and you got to go with it. I felt a sense of urgency this week. I felt like -- I was in London most of last week and didn't play too much. But when I came over, over the weekend, I felt like my swing was there, and I still had really good thoughts about my game. And I just knew I had to just let it happen this week instead of getting in my own way, like I have done here in the past. That was one of the keys for me this week, not to get overexcited or overnervous or tense playing out there. I just needed to let my game kind of do its thing. I am happy to have done that. Sometimes out there this week, I could feel I was getting a little bit tense, but I either made a good putt or hit a good shot; so yeah, it is special anywhere now. But you know, for the reasons I said, I think this is even more special. And Leizl, she loves it here. She was not with me obviously when I came here my first time. We met in 1993, so I think since 1994 she has been travelling with me here. We stay with friends here. We have been there for six years also. So I feel pretty comfortable here.

ERNIE ELS: A good question. At times I felt like I played better than some of the winners at some golf tournaments. I just felt at times that I hit the ball really great and somehow I made mistakes mental mistakes, club selection mistakes, just stupid mistakes of not winning golf tournaments. At other times guys just outplayed me. So yeah, at times you doubt and you think, man, you know, what is going on; it was never this hard to win ever (laughs); then all of a sudden now you find yourself playing really good and you can't win. Yeah, at times you doubt, but that is why you need good support when you go home to kind of get you to fight back.

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I started doing my math on 17 (laughter). That is not really good, I want to tell you about, but I kind of figured out Phil has got to make his putt. He is such a good clutch putter and at least I had a better lie than I had yesterday. I had a little easier shot than I had yesterday afternoon. I had more green to work with and I was kind of chipping back into the wind which always helps. But I still had to play a decent shot. I was a little surprised it came up short, but I was very happy when it went to just about a give. So yeah, I mean, I basically scored as well as I could coming in, not hitting the fairways, but hitting, I thought, a great iron shot on 16 because anywhere left you are making bogey or worse. You miss the green there, it is just impossible up-and-down. So 16 probably was the key shot.

ERNIE ELS: Well, let's put it this way, I think it would have been very tough for him to have beaten me this week. (laughs) I think, you know, I tied the record score here, you know, I had 34 points after two rounds, to be honest, nobody pushed me until the last nine holes of this tournament, so "if you know who" played, I guess I had to maybe lift my game the last two rounds a little bit more, but I think he would have had to play well to have beaten me. (laughs).

ERNIE ELS: I wonder if he is watching. (Laughs). No, I can't get too cocky, but yeah, let's try and make it a good horserace next time at Valhalla. I am playing well. I have been playing well for quite sometime now. I just got to just maybe push it a little harder when I get there and we will see how I go. We got to play four good rounds and everybody has got to play four good rounds and if he plays four mediocre rounds we have got a very good horserace (laughter).

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, if you look at that board and look at tomorrow's paper look at the guys that finished up there, everybody -- that is everybody in the world of golf. Everybody except for David and for Tiger. The rest of them were here. Sure, Colin Montgomerie wasn't here; Lee Westwood wasn't here, but for the rest, just about every top player in the world played this week and most of them played pretty well. Greg Norman just about out of retirement and he played wonderful. Seems like his hip is fine again and he is hungry to play again and he showed that. Obviously Phil Mickelson having a great year winning three times. Sergio sensation.

ERNIE ELS: I couldn't believe how far he hit his 3-wood, geez, that was way down there. From that distance he, I don't know, I am not sure what he had, must have -- must have had about 110 yards or something,. From that distance I have seen him hole so many of those shots. What is the chances, but still anything can happen nowadays. Again, I was looking at that shot quite a little bit. I said to Neal, my caddie, I said, well, if he holes it, I will have to hole my putt. So when he hit it close I could 3-putt and still win so it was kind of over again.

ERNIE ELS: No, I think it was second round.

ERNIE ELS: Nobody asked me for an interview. You should have said something.

ERNIE ELS: Well, I am not sure where you are going with the question. But you know, I shot a 66 the first round at the Open and obviously I didn't play a very good round the second round. I played quite poorly in fact. I think I shot 2-over the front nine and I came back and 2-under to kind of salvage my round. But I felt that I definitely slipped back -- slip of the tournament there a little bit because I knew I had to play a good one. Sure, yeah, I was a little upset, but I played the rest of the week I played okay; not up to my standards, but found myself in second place again. Yeah, that is about it. I would say that Pebble, I played one good round at the Open I played three good rounds, so I guess I played better at the Open, the British Open.