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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 13, 2006

Ernie Els

MAMARONECK, NEW YORK

RAND JERRIS: It's our pleasure to welcome Ernie Els to the interview area this afternoon. Ernie is playing in his 14th United States Open Championship this week. He is a two time U.S. Open winner having won in 1994 and 1997. Maybe you could just start us off with some general thoughts about the course at Winged Foot.

ERNIE ELS: I think it's a wonderful test of golf this week. They've got it set up very well. The course is playing very well at the moment, there's a bit of moisture on the golf course, fairways and greens. The rough is set up tiered, and I think all the players agree with that. I think all in all, the way it's set up right now is as fair as I've seen in a long time. It's obviously a great layout. They've made some holes a lot longer than in '97, but still, I think this week is set up for the best player. The best player will win this week, hitting it from tee to green.

RAND JERRIS: How are you feeling about your game as you head into the Open this week? Any special preparations, aspects of the game you've been working on?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I haven't had a great year up until now, obviously. I've been looking for that one round that might turn it around for me. But I've been working hard on every aspect of my game, really. The putting has been holding me back a little bit the last month or so. But, you know, I think it might be a good week for me this week because of the fact that it's the U.S. Open. I don't care how good you're playing coming into this week, you're going to miss shots, and missing shots here means something, more so than regular Tour events.

I think everybody is going to have to scramble and everybody is going to have to keep their heads, so to speak. You know, my game, I'm hitting the ball okay; I'm doing everything okay.

Q. I'd be curious, for the times you've played out of the rough this week, how far out away from the green are you before you cannot get there, no matter what you hit? In other words, how far can you advance it, do you suppose?

ERNIE ELS: Well, first of all, it depends on where you hit it. If you hit it way off into the third cut, almost where the spectators are walking, from there you're hitting a sand iron or a wedge.

Then it's the fairway, then I'll call it semi rough, and then the rough. That's called the third cut, second cut. Today I had a couple good lies. I could get the ball to the green from 160, 170 yards. If you're in that kind of a cut. You can get lucky, so to speak.

Q. That's out of the second cut?

ERNIE ELS: Yes, from that cut you can get the ball 170 yards. If you're into the grain on that second cut, you can probably get it 130 yards or so. That's a huge difference. If you're way off this week, you're going to pay a penalty.

Q. If you're way, way off near the spectators you can get a nice lie?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, into the trees.

Q. Phil was in here just a few minutes ago, and we've calculated with his help that he has spent something like nine days here preparing. What is your reaction to that?

ERNIE ELS: He's obviously taking it quite seriously (laughter). There's a lot going on out there. These greens, if you're talking about Augusta's greens, these greens, some of them are smaller, they're much more undulating. Like the first green, it's hard to try and see where they're going to put the flags. You're guessing where they're going to put the flags, so you hit putts everywhere. You try to hit every shot that you think you might need on each and every hole. And to do that in a regular practice round is tough to do because you don't want to hold up the field too much. We want to get the practice rounds through pretty quick.

To do it away from the tournament when you're just on your own out there, you can take six, seven hours out there. That's real preparation. So I guess that's what he's been doing. He's been looking at exactly what to hit off the tees, giving himself all the options. That's my answer to your question.

Q. Does a part of you think because this is such a striking amount of time that you ought to be doing a little bit more than you are now, or are you happy with it? Is he making you think again, as he did about the two drivers?

ERNIE ELS: I've been playing this tournament for 14 years now. My preparation in certain majors has been very similar for the 14 years. I've been quite successful in most of them. Whatever works for him. We're all different, we all have our different ways of thinking, different ways of playing the game. If we were all the same, we'd be really boring, wouldn't we (laughter)?

We've got our different manners. I played nine holes Sunday, nine holes Monday, I played 18 holes today, I'll play 18 holes tomorrow evening to see how the course is the way I play, and that's the way I've been doing U.S. Opens for a really long time, and I've won two of them. It's worked for me in the past. It's just the way you feel.

Tiger doesn't play the week before. He likes to come in. Vijay likes to play the week before, likes to win the week before, comes in with a lot of confidence. We're all different.

Q. You talked earlier about you're looking for that round to kind of get you going in the right direction. Have you thought that you've found that round at all this year, and if so, where was it?

ERNIE ELS: I've had a few, and I think I mean, before The Masters I played some good stuff, especially at TPC, and that really helped me back a lot. I played really good golf there every day for 15 holes, and then I had a blowout.

You know, Augusta I played pretty well before the weekend and didn't play great on Sunday. And then Hilton Head I had a good week again, and then the final. It's been kind of sporadic at times. It hasn't been really consistent the way I know I can play.

Obviously Memorial, I kind of fell out of the bus there on Sunday. It's not quite I'm not playing at the level I want to play basically consistently.

Q. Can you trace it to anything specifically?

ERNIE ELS: No, not really. As I said, I think the putter held me back a little bit, and when you hit good shots and you keep missing birdie putts from makeable range, you get a little bit you want to get your round going, so I lost a little bit of patience there the other day. I guess I've just got to be a bit more patient and just keep grinding away.

Q. You mentioned a second ago that out of the second cut if you caught a good lie you thought you could hit it 160, 170, something like that. Out of the third cut, a couple questions. Number one, is it possible to catch a decent lie out of that stuff?

ERNIE ELS: I hit one way out there today on which was the one down the hill, 15. I hit a second ball in the fairway, and Ricci was standing where my first tee ball was, and I said to him, "Come, let's play the one in the fairway obviously."

And he said to me that ball was lying perfectly, and it was out there by the ropes.

You can get a little lucky, but I would say 70 percent of the time you've just got to hit it out with a wedge and advance it 100 yards maybe.

Q. That was my next question. If you're in the bad stuff and reasonably close to the green, is 100 yards about the outside?

ERNIE ELS: 100 yards, some of them, that's good to get it 100 yards out there. Some of the holes, like 4 on the left, I was in there the other day, and I could only advance it maybe 40 yards, so it's deep in places.

Q. You talked about your putting. Is it line, is it speed, is it putter, anything in particular that you're working hard on on that part of your game?

ERNIE ELS: I mean, it's the shortest stroke in the game, the shortest little swing. It should be the most simple stroke or swing. You know, I'm trying to be maybe too perfect with my stroke and I got out of line with my stroke through the ball. You know, I spoke with Dr. Bob actually since Monday. He's given me a couple little exercises just to go through, just to free up the stroke a little bit, to be a little bit more natural with the stroke, not to make the technical stroke perfect but making the strike better and getting the feel back into my putting stroke.

I've been working on that over the last couple of days, and it's starting to feel a little bit more naturally now.

Q. I know every major is important, but is it any different when you're at a course that Bobby Jones won on, that Billy Casper won on, that so much stuff has happened at?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, I love these type of golf courses. As a kid growing up watching the U.S. Open golf, I loved watching the U.S. Opens when it was played at golf courses like these, Winged Foot and Oakmont, golf courses like that, tree lined, old, traditional like golf courses. It's great playing a golf course like this. Obviously there's a lot of tradition and history.

I mean, all the guys love playing on old courses. You can see how your score reflects to the old generation. Yeah, it's great.

Q. About the golf course, first question is the way the design is, does it somewhat negate the way technology has grown in regards to how far you can hit the ball? And secondly, are the bunkers much better to be in than the rough?

ERNIE ELS: The second part, yes, definitely. If you can get to a bunker, hit it in there.

I mean, the golf course, since '97, has changed a lot. Even with the old equipment in '97 and with the changes they've made, they've made some really big changes here. I mean, I remember holes like No. 14, I was hitting a 3 wood and a 7 iron. This morning it was a driver, 4 iron. The par 5, No. 12, I was almost getting it there in '97, maybe 30, 40 yards short. And now there's just no chance. You're hitting a good drive and a good 4 iron for the layup and then a 9 iron for your third shot. They've made some major changes here.

I'm not sure if they played it like that in the 1920s. We don't know. They probably did. But I'm sure they didn't putt it on 13, 14, on the stimp.

Q. Will the doglegs force you to use 3 wood, 4 wood more off the tee?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, basically the right to lefts, I tend to like to cut my driver so the right to lefts I might want to use a 3 wood here or there, but you're coming in with a lot longer iron.

I think the name of the game this week is putting it in play and just get yourself a 70, and you'll take that. Anything around par, you'll be very close.

Q. Some of the players have said that this course has the most contour on the greens of any U.S. Open venue, and they hope to two putt. Others have identified the stretch of 4 through 7 as maybe the only place that they can put the pedal to the metal. When you're preparing yourself, what holes did you say, I can really try to make a move here if I execute well, and what holes did you say, I just want to try to two putt and get off this one?

ERNIE ELS: Well, No. 1. I don't know what the pitch is on No. 1, but it's got to be like 6, 7 percent. That's 1.

The first four holes, if you get them through at level par, you're smiling, believe me. That's like being 2 under par.

This morning we played early, I hit 5 iron into No. 1, 5 iron into No. 2, 3 wood into 3, and a 4 iron into 4. I think I was 2 over par, and I hit it in every fairway. So it's going to be a really difficult start.

When you come to the weekend, the guy that's leading the golf tournament, it can go within the first hour. You can be 4 over after four very easily. The lead is not going to mean much until maybe the last nine holes, come Sunday.

But saying that, the back nine, there are a couple of birdie holes. 11 is a short par 4, 12 is a par 5. You don't really want to look at a birdie there, it's so long. But if you hit two decent shots there you can attack the flag with your third.

Then coming in, 17 is not too long and the green is small, so if you hit a good iron in there, you're going to have a birdie putt. And 18 is not playing too long, either.

So the back nine is a little tougher, but you can still get some short irons into some of the greens. Then obviously the front nine, the stretch from 5 to 7, is an opportunity.

Q. With Father's Day coming up, just curious, what kind of a role did your father have in getting you into golf or keeping you in the game or teaching you the game? What was his role?

ERNIE ELS: He was a huge part of my golf and obviously upbringing. He was a great dad and gave me all the opportunity that I needed. I played a lot of golf with him, caddied for him a little bit when I was younger. We had great times on the golf course, and he was a great support system for me when I was younger.

He still comes out every now and again, and we don't play golf together as much now, but in December is when I'm back home, we play. He was everything. He gave me everything that I needed. He gave me a couple of good pep talks when I left the rails a little bit. He was a good support system.

End of FastScripts.

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