Ernie Els
Ernie Els
Theodore Ernest "Ernie" Elsis a South African professional golfer. A former World No. 1, he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature) along with his fluid golf swing. Among his 71 career victories are four major championships: the U.S. Open in 1994 at Oakmont and in 1997 at Congressional, and The Open Championship in 2002 at Muirfield and in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St Annes. He is one of six golfers to twice win...
NationalitySouth African
ProfessionAthlete
adjust early fooled half last playing putt rolls second slope uphill
Contours on the second half of a long putt have more impact on how the ball rolls because it's going slower. Adjust your speed if that last part is playing uphill or downhill. Don't get fooled by an early slope or break.
accuracy areas best certain conditions difference form gets greens longer matter player second shots small takes toughest tour win
Basically, it takes the best player who's on form to win this tournament. The conditions here, maybe, make more difference than at a lot of places. When it gets a little firmer, the second shots become probably the toughest on Tour because the greens are very small and there's only certain areas where you can go with your second shots. In that regard, it doesn't matter longer or shorter hitter. Accuracy is at a premium.
finished second six
I finished second six times to him that year,
difficult good hit known past putt second shot thinking tried
Right now, the putt on the 72nd hole, that's the putt I'm going to be thinking about. I hit such a good second shot and had such a difficult putt. If I'd known how difficult it was from there, I'd have hit it past the pin, which I tried to do in the playoff. I had my chances, though.
bad beat concentration difficult kept round second sharp shoot tomorrow
I kept my concentration well and got over the bad spells. I was not as sharp as the second round but if I shoot something under 70 tomorrow it will be difficult to beat me.
anxious played
I was a little anxious out there, but I played OK.
becoming fun hardest majors toughest
It is becoming one of the toughest majors now. Where it used to be kind of the most fun of all the majors, it's becoming the hardest now.
event miss saw
I saw Ernie as well and this event will miss him, that's for sure.
break couple days field four guys last might narrow within
Over four days of competition, it's going to narrow the field dramatically. You might see more tournaments like we had last year, where a couple of guys break away and it's kind of two tournaments within a tournament.
confidence couple major next tournament work
I still have a couple of things I have to work on in my game. All in all, my confidence is where is should be, especially going into an important tournament like this and a major next week. I just have to keep working.
backed bigger elvis gets golf guys legend media
I think he's a legend in the making. You (media) guys have helped, but he's backed it up with his golf game. He's 24. He's probably going to be bigger than Elvis when he gets into his 40s.
dread hard hit par playing shot
I think most amateurs dread playing a 180-plus-yard par 3 even more than a hard par 4. Part of it is psychological: You think you should be getting a breather, distance-wise, and instead, you get hit with a long iron or hybrid shot over trouble.
good guess knew missed shut three watch
I wouldn't say I missed it, I did not miss it for a good three months. I guess subconsciously I knew I was out. I was going to be out for a long time. I think I just wanted to shut myself off. Not watch it or read about it or anything like that and concentrate on other things in my life.
conditions dry masters might played
We haven't really played many Masters with dry conditions yet. We might find out this week.