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
almost greens hard hold shoot tough
It would be very interesting if the greens were tough to hold and we got some wind, ... It would be so hard to shoot under par. It would almost be impossible.
greens last perhaps small year
Perhaps I know the greens a little better than Vijay because of last year and I know where they will break. I would like to think I have perhaps a very small advantage.
ben greens phil tiger
There's no one better than Ben on the greens here at Augusta, probably him, Tiger (Woods) and Phil (Mickelson). I think Ben still may be even better than Tiger on the greens.
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.
favorite felt golf greens
This is one of my favorite golf courses. I felt comfortable and the greens were perfect.''
changes club difficult flags game greens miss seems selection stick
Club selection was the most difficult part of the game today. It seems like it changes all the time. You've got to get your yardage and stick to a club that you're comfortable with and go with that. If you miss those greens on the flags on top, it's very difficult to get it up and down.
bring course greens plan shots time
Their plan is to bring the course back to where they used to play the shots into the greens in the '60s and '70s. We've just got to give it time and see where it goes.
athletic club good posture
When I stay athletic with good posture and get the club away in a good position, I get through it better.
coming penalty rough
The rough is pretty thick. It's a half-shot penalty coming out of there.
america asia game helped playing won
I've won tournaments in Europe, Asia and America and I think playing around the world has really helped me game playing in different conditions, not just one-dimensional golf.
ball fine overly tried
I've tried to play the way you play in Opens, which is to get the ball in play, not be too overly aggressive, and play away from the flags. But there's a fine line. You need to be careful, but you can't play defensive.
left shot shots
I've shot 69 but I feel like I've left some shots out there today,
almost beat couple definitely few gets golfing gone last level played quite seems swing tired tough
I've played with him quite a few times the last couple of years. It seems like he's gone up a level this year. It seems like he's really comfortable with his swing and his game. It seems like he's there every week. He's almost a golfing machine, so to speak. He never gets tired of the game. I think he's definitely going to be very tough to beat this weekend.
adam bit confidence given huge last played win wish
It would be a huge confidence booster to win here. I wish I'd played like this last week. I would have given (Beijing winner) Adam Scott a bit of a go.