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
african coin mark open rand reminds south win
I use a 1994 South African 5 rand coin to mark my ball. It reminds me of my '94 U.S. Open win at Oakmont.
african open plan south
Right now the plan is to come back for the South African Open in December,
behind conditions full generally last major month notch open rattled took
He's a full notch behind Vijay. He's not even on the same rung. There's no major that rattles you like the U.S. Open. Last year's Open probably took a month to get over that. It's not like the Masters, where the conditions are generally the same. At the Open, they're probably already rattled going in.
angle catch club cut height helps inch left open slightly swing
From the rough, I'd use a 6-iron, play the ball back an inch or two and swing down on a steeper angle to catch the ball first. It also helps to aim slightly left and open the clubface at address. You'll get more height on the shot, and the club will cut through the grass more easily.
avoid ball club dry flyer hit loft open percent shots sitting swing top trying unless
Because of the grass and open face, I take one more club for shots from the rough, unless the ball is sitting on top of dry grass. Then, I use more loft and swing softer, trying to hit it about 70 percent to avoid a flyer over the green.
feeling masters next open ready reason time traveling virus year
I will be ready for the Masters next time around and had I not got a virus just before Augusta, this year I would have been ready. I don't know if it was all the traveling that did it to me or whatever, but also for some reason I went to the U.S. Open feeling tired.
amazing crowd effect open
You don't have to be long off the tee, and we know the amazing effect an Open crowd can have if you're on your game and how they can lift you.
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.