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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIPMay 22, 2013Ernie ElsVIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND STEVE TODD: Ernie, many thanks for joining us. Wentworth, obviously a second home for you, and this event is particularly special every year, but must be a little more special this year coming in as the reining Open Championship. ERNIE ELS: Yes, that's quite a long time ago now but it's always special to come here. We have got a good connection with Wentworth Estate, been living here, had a house since 1998. The kids went to school here, so was home for us for a long time. We live in the U.S. now, but love coming back. Obviously the golf course, we made some changes a couple of years ago. Got quite a nice affiliation with the club. So it's just great to be back and playing in the Flagship Event. We've got an unbelievable field. I think this is one of the better ones we've had for quite some time. So very exciting. STEVE TODD: Just talking about The European Tour dinner last night, which you are obviously a major part of, quite inspiring watching those videos of yourself. ERNIE ELS: Yeah, brought back some nice memories, watching the tape of the back nine was quite nice, how the whole thing unfolded. And ironically, we were all hoping that Scotty would win his major and then he wins the Masters this year. So the whole thing worked out quite nicely I thought (laughter) me getting a bit of a gift, and Scotty winning his first major. So the whole thing I think worked out just perfect (smiling). Q. We've just been chatting with Lee in here and talking about all of the top European, particularly British players, who are based largely in the States, and the fact that there's only two European events actually in England and Wales apart from the Open. Do you worry about The European Tour‑‑ obviously it's natural the guys wanting to over there and go for the big prizes? ERNIE ELS: I think it's going to come back. It's just the state that the world was in. I think the U.S. had longer‑standing contracts. The U.S. wasn't affected as badly as mainland Europe. We all know how badly Europe's been affected. It's taking a bit longer for Europe to come back. But if you look at the stock market, it looks like it's starting to fly again. So I think you've just got to be patient. I think tournaments in Europe will come back. I think that is a focus of management at The European Tour office. I think that's the clear goal is to get tournaments back in Europe and I think that will happen. I think they have an excellent job to give the guys an opportunity to play. Thankfully they went to Asia early and all these other places around the world like South Africa, Australia and so forth to give their Members a place to play. You know, I think the European economy, as I said, is in a bit of a‑‑ it is what it is, and I think the recovery is going to be coming back and I think tournaments will also come back. Q. Just going to get your reaction to the decision yesterday regarding the anchoring ban, whether you sort of expected it to come, and also, what would your advice be now to the PGA TOUR player advisory board? ERNIE ELS: Actually ironically I was sitting with Peter Dawson last night around the table. I felt it was going to happen. Felt that there was a lot said in the three‑month period up to yesterday by everybody; by golf bodies, by pros, by amateurs. I think with everything said, they have taken the decision, made the decision, and you know, as I said before, you've got to go with the bodies, with the ruling bodies. I think they are looking out for the best interests of the game in the long run. The argument forever will be, you know, could have done it 25, 30 years ago, why now and all that. But it is what it is. We are where we are. They have made their decision; they, the ruling bodies, and I think we are going to have to play ball. Q. The PGA TOUR, will they play ball? ERNIE ELS: I think so. I've been using this putter now for over a year. I've won a major with it. Taken me a lot of time to get used to it, like other players. Some players have used it for 18 years, 20 years. A lot of these players playing on the U.S. Tour, guys have won Majors with these putters, myself included, play the U.S. Tour. It will be a little difficult to‑‑ it's unlike the golf ball was. You could use the small golf ball I guess over here back in the day, and you could use the bigger golf ball over in the U.S. To make the switch in putters, that's a tough one. You can't play The Open Championship and you have to use the short putter and the U.S. Tour you can use the long putter. That's a big deal. So you know, I don't want to speak for the U.S. Tour right now and I don't want to speak for Tim Finchem or the players advisory board, but probably going to have to play ball somehow. Don't know what those other guys are going to do. It's a huge issue, this. This is a guy's livelihood you're talking about; a guy that really, having problems on the greens or a guy who is so used to playing with the long putter, taking that away from him now, that's a huge issue. So we are going to have to wait and see what the individuals do. But as a golfing body, I think the TOUR probably will play ball. Q. Looking back to Lytham last year, do you think you could have won The Open with a short putter? ERNIE ELS: I don't think so, no. I thought about that. I was in such a state on the greens; I'm a lot better now. I'm still working with Sheryl. It was more a psychological thing for me. And then, really devoting myself on the long putter, and I wasn't even putting that great. I was maybe in the bottom ten of putting stats in Lytham. But I was in such a state, I don't think I could have won The Open with a shorter putter. I'm in a much better place now and I feel that I can get back into the short putter in the near future. Q. Does that mean you'll be finished in three years' time? ERNIE ELS: I think so. I think that's enough time. I think that's another issue. I think‑‑ I heard that the U.S. Tour, if they go with it, they might want to bring it forward, for the sake of the players. Because you can imagine fans out there, guys playing with a long putter and knowing that the putter is going to be banned in 2016, fans might react to that. So the TOUR might want to bring that forward, which will put pressure on these players to get into the new form of putting. But I think 2016 is fair. If you want to look at it that way; to give a guy 2 1/2 years to get into another method of putting. Some players might not be able to do it, but at least 2 1/2 years is a good period of time. Q. Could you still continue with some form of the long putter without anchoring? ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I've seen the guys already build putters certain ways. Callaway's Odyssey built me a longer putter with a lot of weight in the handle. In a way you can still use it fairly close to how the anchoring works but not quite. But there will be ways. Guys are going to go to the drawing board now. In a way this is good for the companies; they can come up with something new again (laughing). Q. Will you have a chance to see Muirfield before the week of The Open? ERNIE ELS: I was going to do it yesterday but I had to go to the Tour dinner last night, so I couldn't get back in time.  But I'm coming back; I'm playing the BMW International Open, the Munich tournament, and I'll have three weeks before The Open. So I'll go up there. As I say, we talked about the golf course, Muirfield, last night with Mr.Dawson. So he says it's a little tougher than it was in '02. I'll take his word for it (laughs). Q. One of the guys you mentioned earlier on, the guys who have used the long putter for such a long time, Tim Clark, your countryman, has said from overnight at the Crowne Plaza that he is taking legal advice. Is that inevitable, do you think, because as you said, it's his livelihood. ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I think that's going to happen. I think you're going to have some guys that's going to go that way. This is a real issue for some players. I was one of those players‑‑ I was reading some of the comments from the guys, ban it, yeah, I've got no problem with putting. Some of you, I'll give you time; you will have a problem with putting. (Laughter) I'm not saying all of them, but you're going to start thinking about a 3‑footer, soon. It's helped me. It's helped a lot of other players in that regard. But in where guys just feel comfortable putting that way, Keegan Bradley, he looks like he could put with a short putter, he looks so comfortable over it, but he hasn't done it yet. So it's a huge change. Guys are going to -- they are probably going to take some action. Q. You follow cricket also very closely and there's an instance in cricket that in the last two years when the bowler is bowling up cannot bend more than 15 degrees, and the ball rolls illegally if it bends more than that. You know, the ICC said some players had to change their style of bowling. Some players could not remain as lethal or potent as they used to be. If you look at some of this, do you think the players will get used to it if they have to make the change? ERNIE ELS: I think so. As Jock said there, the club manufacturers are going to help the players, also. I think there will be another design of putter coming. But the guys are so good; we spend so much time practising the game that you will get used to playing a different way. Whether you're going to be as lethal as some of these bowlers, I don't think so, because it's a psychological thing. Luckily for me, if I'm selfish now, you know, if I won 64 events or whatever events I've won, and I won one with a belly putter; so I've got to get back to that for my own self. But it's going to take time for guys to get back into competitive form with a different type, method of playing the game. It's only natural. Q. Just one thing; if you're playing The Scottish Open at Castle Stuart this year? ERNIE ELS: I haven't committed yet. My schedule has been quite busy. I've been all over the world. Gone to Asia a couple of times already, Middle East. We'll see. We'll see how we feel, but I'd love to go. Love it up there. Family likes it up there. So I'll check it out. Q. Do you have an idea in your own head how long it will take you to phase out using the belly putter, and just talk through the process of how you're going to get to that? ERNIE ELS: I've already used it in one tournament. I played in Asia in March, and I used it there. It wasn't as much of a pressure tournament as maybe the PGA or a major is, but I felt okay with it. So I've been practising with the short putter, and on the practise green, it feels great, but you just have to take it out on the course. There's obviously going to be more eyes watching us moving from long to short, but again, I think that will just take a week or two weeks to get people's eyes off you, so to speak. But I've been practising with it a little bit, and I probably won't put the short one in the bag until after the major season this year, then at the end of the year, I'll start playing a lot more tournaments with it. STEVE TODD: Okay, Ernie, thanks for joining us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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