|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIPApril 30, 2014Derek ErnstCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA THE MODERATOR: We'll get started. We would like to welcome Derek Ernst into the interview room here at the Wells Fargo Championship. Derek, take us back to 2013 and your win here, just a little bit about that Sunday and what it did for your career. DEREK ERNST: Yeah, it was my first PGA TOUR win, opened a lot of doors for me and it was really big for me to get the exemption and play in the Masters, do all those great things so yeah, back here again, and it feels great to be here. THE MODERATOR: I know this season has been a little bit of a rocky road for you, but played pretty well last week at Zurich, 69 there on Sunday. Talk about your confidence level coming into this week? DEREK ERNST: Same as last year. I did well at the Zurich last year, same time, so I kind of feel like it's a rerun of what's going on last year, so I hope the same kind of vibes go this year. I like the golf course changes to 16 and 17, so it's going to be exciting again. Q. Derek, if you could expand, how difficult has it been? The Cinderella story, you win the monster tournament, then struggles. How difficult was it for you in the last year? DEREK ERNST: Well, I kind of explained this to a few people, too. I changed a lot of things since I won. I knew I had that two‑year exemption so I was like, okay, I want to prepare myself for longevity out here on the TOUR. I got a new agent, a trainer, I put on 20 pounds since I won last year, new swing coach, new caddy. I mean, I basically cleaned house with everything. So since I added those 20 pounds it's‑‑ my swing changed a little bit, my feel, my touch has change around the greens and I'm just getting into it again with, you know, getting comfortable with my body, basically. But it's been tough, you know. It ain't gonna be easy. I knew that going into it, but I've been working with my psychologist. This is what it is, you just gotta pull through. Q. Do you still remain as confident now as you were a year ago? DEREK ERNST: Oh, yeah, I was worse coming in. I feel like I'm way better now than I was when I won this tournament last year. Q. Derek, why the need to make a change? All the changes? DEREK ERNST: Like I said, I wanted to prepare for longevity ought here on TOUR. I was 22 when I won, I'm 23 now, I want to be out here until I'm 50, so I wanted to make the changes so I can be out here until I'm 50 and be competing every week. Q. Derek did your own expectations change after you won here and has that played a role in the scores over the past year, or has it all been attributed to the changes you've made? DEREK ERNST: Yeah, I wanted to get better. Tiger changed his swing in 2000, even though he was winning everything. You want to get better no matter what you're doing. I felt I needed to make the changes that I did, and I'll start seeing them pay off in the next couple years I think. Q. Rocco Mediate once said when you win you shouldn't change anything except perhaps underwear. Do you regret any of the changes? DEREK ERNST: I don't regret anything I've done in my whole life, because if you look back and regret something then you did it wrong, but everything I do, I will never, ever regret it. Q. Do you have a new caddy? Same caddy as last year? DEREK ERNST: This week I have the guy that I won with last year. I've known him since I was 10 years old. He was my caddy for most of the year last year. I just brought him back for good vibes, good mojo going on this week. He won on the bag last year so he knows the course pretty well, and I feel like we will be a good team this week. Q. What's his name? DEREK ERNST: Aaron Terry, A‑A‑R‑O‑N T‑E‑R‑R‑Y. Q. What does it feel like to come back to an event as the defending champion? DEREK ERNST: It's crazy. I've never been a defending champ before, so this is the first time doing stuff like this I haven't done all year, so it's a little different but it's super exciting at the same time. The atmosphere in Charlotte, this tournament sells out almost every year I think and the fans love the golf here so it's been awesome to be back. Q. Derek, with all the changes that you made, and not talking about regrets, but the results not coming as quickly, how have you fought off the frustrations of that? You're a competitor, you want to win, you want to be successful, but when the results aren't there, how tough is that and how do you fight that off? DEREK ERNST: You don't focus on the results; you focus on the process. Take it one day at a time. If you're getting 1% better every day then you're making the right moves. Yeah, the results haven't been there, but I'm 23 years old I'm going to learn from my mistakes and move on. Q. Of the changes that you made, which of those have you seen bear the most fruit so far for you? Is it your equipment? Is it your touch? You're getting used to your new body? DEREK ERNST: I think I've added‑‑ I think my total driving this year is a lot better. I think I'm 10 yards further off the tee on average this year and I think that's due to the weight lifting and things like that. So that's going to help having a little shorter‑irons in, for sure. I just gotta get used to the putting and the short game and the feel around there with the 20 pounds that I put on. Q. Had you decided to make these changes before you won? Is that something you knew you were going to do all along? DEREK ERNST: I knew the things I needed to do but it helped me‑‑ you know if I didn't win and I had the rest of the year to try and get top‑125 so I can keep my card, obviously things would have been different. I would have prepared for a more result‑driven finish, because I needed to get top‑125 so I could keep my card, but now that I knew I was in and I had two years, I was like, okay, let's make some changes because I have all this year and next year. And next year is the big year, but this year I'm using for a big learning year, learn as much as I can, make the changes that are necessary and hopefully it's going to prepare me to be a better player in the future. Q. Besides the results what's been the best part of winning? DEREK ERNST: The best results? Q. No, the best things about having won, attentionwise, anything different? DEREK ERNST: I don't know. Everyone calls me David Ernst, because‑‑ even all the people here, it seems like I've had it five times this week, "Hey, David Ernst, great job," "No, David was the guy I played in the playoffs last year, I'm Derek!" (Laughter.) I don't think things have changed. I haven't changed as a person. I don't see anything different except the two year exemption, and I got to play in the Masters. Q. As a guy who was thrust on the scene last year how has your interaction been with the veterans? DEREK ERNST: They're awesome, I've got to know a lot more guys out here, I've been closer with Webb or Lucas Glover, last year was more surreal, out of college, and get on the PGA TOUR right away, and you're playing with Rory and Tiger and every week it's kind of fake, and now every year I'm going to get more and more comfortable with it. Q. You mentioned you like the changes on 16 and the back nine on the golf course. Last year you won when the greens were less than perfect. Your assessment of the new putting surfaces. DEREK ERNST: They were Bent before and now they're Bermuda greens. Obviously we didn't have anything last year, it was more mud, but the slopes, too, I heard they changed a little bit. They actually took down the slopes. It was too undulated in some spots. I don't know, I like the golf course. I think it's the same as last year, basically. I feel good about the greens and everything. Q. Derek, what would you say to the people who say because of the greens the way they were last year that you were a flukey winner? DEREK ERNST: What do I say about that? Someone had to win last year. That's all I gotta say. Someone had to overcome it. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Derek Ernst. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|