BAY HILL INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY COOPER TIRES

March 12, 2002

Ernie Els

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Ernie for joining us.

ERNIE ELS: Thank you.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: We just had Tiger in here. He's looking to win the Bay Hill Invitational for the third time, and I think you're looking to win for the third week in a row.

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, that would be nice, wouldn't it.

But I'm really looking forward to it. The golf course is in great shape. The greens are really firm, as firm as I've ever seen them. The fairways are soft. So that means it's good for long hitters, you know. You've got to keep it straight, but if you're hitting a driver a lot and you're hitting a lot of fairways and you're hitting long, I think you'll have an advantage around this place.

But, you know, a great field. Very strong field. It seems like the guys like to play in Florida now.

As you say, Tiger is going for his third win, but you can't be too concerned about that. I'm just going to try to play my game and hopefully be there on Sunday.

Q. When was the last time you felt this good, this long, about your game, if ever?

ERNIE ELS: I've had my spells. (Laughs).

You know, I don't know, I'm just taking week by week. This year, I think it's my seventh, eighth tournament now. I've had a pretty good run, except for The Match Play, and I've played well. Even in the Match Play, I played well, just that Tom played better than I. I just take it week by week, wherever I am in the world. I'm trying to enjoy my game and play as hard as I can. So that's my goals and hopefully it will stay this way for a long time, even a longer time.

Q. Almost every year when you come to Kapalua you seem to get off to a fast start, what's been the difference in getting off to a fast start?

ERNIE ELS: You know, I think it's been a combination of a couple of things. I think it's been a combination of attitude and a lot of hard work on the range, a lot of hard work off the golf course, trying to stay in shape. I'm not a fitness freak, as you know, but I've been doing my fair share for myself.

But I think it's just been a combination of those three -- three principal things.

You know, finally it's starting to pay off now. So we're in March and we've got a long way to go, but I'm really looking forward to every week I play now.

Q. What's the attitude change this year?

ERNIE ELS: The attitude change is just trying to be a little bit -- what's the word, maybe a little bit more disciplined with my preparation. Before the tournament and really trying to stay focused on the golf course during the tournament. So I guess if you just want to call it, a little bit more focused kind of a thing.

Q. Had you let practicing and stuff slide a little bit since Samantha and all of the other things? Was there less time spent with it, less dedication as you kind of refocused doing the daddy thing -- I don't know?

ERNIE ELS: You know, last year I practiced as hard as ever. I just don't think generally my practice into the right direction. I was -- beat balls, beat balls for a couple of hours, do my chipping thing, the putting thing, but I don't think everything kind of went in. I was just doing it, doing it, because I'm a professional golfer and doing it.

So, you know, just didn't settle into the system. I think I'm practicing different this year and I'm doing things different.

Q. Can you talk about just the details on getting back from Dubai, how long it took, when you got back? Is there any jet-lag whatsoever?

ERNIE ELS: I had a lot of jet-lag last week. Going east, I've been traveling a long time in my career now, and going east really gets me. Coming this way is not all that bad. When we went there, it took us 15 and a half hours to get to Dubai with one stop.

Coming this way, it was into the breeze, into the wind. It took us close to 17 hours with one stop in Ireland, also. But the jet-lag coming this way is not that bad. It's the same kind of time difference that we have from South Africa to the East Coast. So I'll get to bed early in the evenings and wake up early in the mornings. So the nights are shorter. Going east, the nights are so long.

Q. So when would you have gotten back to Orlando?

ERNIE ELS: I got back yesterday morning 7:00, we landed, at Orlando International.

Q. If somebody could have said, "Ernie, just drive on up to Coral Springs, you're going to win there this week, too," would you have still gone to Dubai?

ERNIE ELS: Would I still have gone to Dubai?

Q. Would you have still wanted to go there and play it, if somebody just guaranteed, stay in Florida, win at Honda?

ERNIE ELS: I haven't thought of it that way. (Laughter.)

Economic-wise, probably, no, I still would have gone to Dubai. (Laughter.)

Q. You were talking about how everyone wants to play in Florida. As a resident of Florida, it seems like there are all of those local guys younger and younger playing so well, Kuchar, Tryon. Talk about the strength of central Florida golfers.

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, it's strong. I think it's always been strong. I think guys have come and settled down here on TOUR for a long time now. For a while in the early 90s, the majority of top players were in Orlando. The top players are still in Orlando, with Tiger and O'Meara and the guys, and Retief.

But the young guys coming through now, like Ty, Charlie Howell is a resident here now. Matt Kuchar, as you say. There's a couple of other guys. It's great for the community. It's great for the city. You know, keeps the city on the map, without Disney world. (Laughter.)

We've got some really nice golf courses in the area. The weather is unbelievable. I really like the summers here because it seems like people like to move out and the golf courses are really nice and quiet in the summertime. So I have a great time here.

Q. Any advice for the 17-year-old, Ty Tryon, his first time at Bay Hill?

ERNIE ELS: You know, we were going to play tomorrow, but I think I'm going to just take it easy tomorrow. Maybe just play nine holes. So hopefully I'll play nine holes with him tomorrow.

But he's been a pupil at Lead's academy since he was a young kid, and I speak to Lead a lot about him, and Charles, and Lead is so excited about those two guys. And he should be, because, I mean, Charles is already a world star and Ty is just ready. What he's done, just to get on TOUR, that's incredible, if you think about it. I mean, 17 years old and you're out there with the big boys, that's just incredible.

So, you know, you've just got to enjoy it and work hard and his time will come.

Q. You're one of the people that have played the changes at Augusta National. Could I get your comment on the changes?

ERNIE ELS: I think they are good. I played it about three weeks ago. I can't fault anything they have done there. So they have brought a lot of length to the golf course on really key holes.

It's really -- they still have got the second cut there; so it makes driving so much more important now. A few years ago, before they had the second cut, you could drive the ball anywhere and the golf course was 500 yards shorter. So it really just played into the hands of anybody that can hit the ball far.

Now, you've got to still drive the ball a long distance, if you want to score well, but you've really got to shape the ball a lot better now than you used to. So it's really a different golf course. Totally different golf course.

Q. Do you think a person with a medium-length driver, but a great short game, could still contend there?

ERNIE ELS: Definitely. Definitely. If you drive the ball well, you're going to be out-of-this-world long, about you you've got to drive it well, put it in the right places. And if you're going with middle irons, long irons -- with a short game, you've got to have a short game around Augusta. If you don't have a short game, you won't win there.

Q. Playing this well this time of year, do you find yourself thinking of you go Augusta a lot?

ERNIE ELS: I haven't really. To be honest with you, as I say, I really thought that I was going to just prepare myself for Augusta right through March, but it hasn't really sunk in with me. Probably because I'm having a little bit more success in the tournaments that I'm playing now, I'm more focused in what I'm doing at the moment, rather than, you know, just channel all my energy into Augusta which is a month away.

So, I haven't really thought about it. Although, I've played the course, I guess I was just bored and had to do something. I flew up there and Ed Douglas was great enough to play with us. He's a member up there. So I had a good day up there. But I haven't really thought about it that much.

Q. Is No. 8 the toughest hole out here?

ERNIE ELS: Out here, there's quite a few. I mean, depending how the wind blowing, yeah, 8 is right up there. You've got to really drive it on the fairway and you've got a long second over the water. But 18, even No. 6, the par 5 around the lake, that's a -- that makes you think, too. There's a lot of great holes out there.

Q. Can you think of a couple of differences at Augusta, most dramatic differences for you, where you used to hit a driver and a 6-iron and now it's a driver and 5-iron?

ERNIE ELS: That's easy. No. 1 comes into my mind. I hit a 5-iron in there. It was a little breezy, but I still hit a good 5-iron into the middle of the green. Two solid shots with same breezy probably would have hit 8-, or 9-iron in.

18, I hit 5-iron in again, and that used to be a wedge or 9-iron.

13, I used to hit 3-wood, five, 6-iron and now it's a driver and I had 213 into the green, and I actually hit it in the creek that day. So that would have been probably 3-iron. So those are the big changes.

And 7 is now probably a 3-wood and a 9-iron.

Q. Do you ever suffer from like a psychological hangover after a big win, like one of the Opens or anything like that, where you maybe were a little bit fried, didn't know it, and sometimes the player themselves might be the last guy to recognize something like that?

ERNIE ELS: It definitely happens. Especially after a major win, I would say, because that's the biggest tournament you can win. After that, anything, you know, you're going down. So definitely after a major, you're so excited and all that emotion and all that excitement takes a while to kind of settle down.

But I've played well after majors, major wins, and I've played well after regular tournament wins. So in practice, you've just got to maybe spend less time, but really make it really quality time, and then get away. Just keep the enthusiasm.

Q. The firmness of these greens, I imagine that will be a big topic this week. Do you wish you saw more of that on TOUR?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I think you're right. I really agree with that. I think when these greens are really new; so they are a lot firmer than anything we play.

But in Florida, it seems like we get firmer greens. They overseed it a little bit. We get a lot of breeze and the pace of the greens are perfect if Florida, normally. It seems like it just suits the golf courses, too. We play pretty long golf courses with wide fairways, so that's fair. And then you've got to hit quality shots to get close to the flags. I really enjoy that. I think it will help to even the standard on TOUR, because when we play major championships, that's what we play on; we play on firm, very fast greens. So when you get to a major championship, it's not such a big difference.

Q. Of the goals that you have out here that you haven't achieved yet, what is most important on your list, and do you get more anxious to try to win at the Masters or British?

ERNIE ELS: That's a good question. Yeah, you know, my goal has always been to win major championships. But, right now, I really just want to win anything. (Laughs).

When I play, I feel I just want to compete and win. And at the moment, I feel pretty strongly about that. So hopefully I can keep that thought going. But, yeah, definitely to win major championships. That's a huge goal.

Q. At Augusta on No. 8, is that hole unreachable in two for you?

ERNIE ELS: No. It's not. On that day I played, I ripped a drive and I hit a very good 3-wood and I was about 30 yards short.

Q. Will anybody get there?

ERNIE ELS: You probably will find guys getting there, depending how the breeze blows. But probably only five guys will reach it.

Q. A couple of weeks ago you sort of dismissed the idea of winning both money titled.

ERNIE ELS: It's possible, sure it's possible, but it's not a goal of mine. Really, I haven't given it any thought, really. I'm just happy the way things are going. As I say, I just want to play well when I play. I'm really not even going to think about it, really. It doesn't matter.

Q. How long have you been back with Lead? You were with him and then back?

ERNIE ELS: I've always been are Lead since probably 1989 when I came over here and I met him for the first time at Lake Nona. Robert Baker was always working with him; so I always used to work with Robert and Lead. And then Robert went on his own; so even though I was still seeing Lead, I really went with Robert full time.

You know, now I'm kind of back with Lead since -- I think Masters 2000 I came back with Lead. And ever since, I've really just been working with Lead mostly.

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