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
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.
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.
brain great love picking thinking winning
He's a great champion. I love picking his brain about what he was thinking when he was winning all those tournaments.
believe best closed davis elevated gap golf guys humble phil playing tee tiger win
Tiger is not playing as well as he did then. Guys like Vijay, Phil (Mickelson), Davis (Love) and me have elevated a little bit, and the gap has closed a bit. I think guys get to the first tee and really believe they can win with Tiger in the field. Golf will humble the best of them and that's where we are.
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.
almost eagle field five hole strongest three week win
I was five under on that hole for the week with an eagle and three birdies. But there you go. This was strongest field in the world this year...and to almost win is fine.
course everybody golf jack wants win
When you have a golf course that's so pristine, you just want to play well. Jack Nicklaus has also got something to do with that. Everybody wants to win this golf tournament.
couple forward good looking winning
I've had a couple of really good (Masters) finishes, so I know what it takes. And definitely, I have the game. Yeah, I'm still looking forward to winning that tournament.
accuracy best form great player premium short win
The best player who is on form is going to win the tournament. Accuracy is at a premium here and you'd better have your short game. Overall, it's a great test.
best course form golf longer lots player tournament win
It's got a lot of variety, and you can play the golf course lots of different ways. Basically, the best player that's on form is going to win the tournament ? if you're a longer hitter, shorter hitter.
hopefully love sets win
It really sets up to my game. I love the par-fives, I love the way they've set it up, so I've just got to keep grinding. I feel I can hopefully win here by the end of my career.
course golf good great shows winners
It's a great test. I think to have different winners like that shows you how good the golf course is.
almost forward looking played quite win
I haven't played with Tiger, or in that kind of a field, for a while. And to play that well and almost win was quite exciting. I'm looking forward to the year.
almost cannot leg win
I cannot complain. After all the hassle I had with the leg to come back ... and to almost win is fine.