Ernie Els Quotes (118 Quotes)

This course had some teeth today.

You play away from flags here like you do at U.S. Opens. The only difference is the rough is not as high. Give that some time.

We haven't really played Augusta the last five, six years in very firm, fast conditions.

Ernie told her there was no need to wait, as he thought she was ready to turn pro, ... He spoke mostly to Michelle, but also had a word with her dad, whom he told the same thing.

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.

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.

It's nice to see your name as number two again. I've got a long way to get to number one. But I don't want to think about it too much. I want to chase majors more than I want to be number one.

You check into the hotel and see you're booked for seven nights. But you know you might be leaving in a day or two. It's exciting for the fans. But you're on edge. And you're on edge the whole round.

Basically it's the only sensible course of action, so that I can be sure of the promptest recovery period.

It's not the easiest thing in the world. Your mind can wander but you can't be afraid. It's a good test of character.

That was exciting stuff. They can show that on The Golf Channel every day instead of all that other stuff they show.

I'm 36 years old, so, you know, I need to do things.

What else is there for Els to do He finally caught Tiger, but he's still not No.1. That must seem weird to him, too. So now he has set his sights on the career Grand Slam (he already has won the U.S. and British Opens) and Vijay Singh. I think the game is on, ... Vijay has won eight times this year I've won four. So it's interesting.

When I got to my ball, I was like, what's going on I've never seen that happen. I was very happy to make a 4.

Exactly. That's where Jos really helped me a lot. I've got to hit my shots. I have to play my game. We weren't even talking about Tiger ever -- or any other player, for that matter. Jos was just trying to brainwash me and get me to go from A to B. And that's all I must concern myself about.

I don't take too many long breaks through the season. My next long break will probably be somewhere in June or July when I have two weeks off. For the next four or five months, it's a lot of golf with a week off here and there and a lot of traveling. So I needed to do that just to recharge.

I think Phil deserved this one. Full credit to him.

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.

We were hoping for Jack to win, but we didn't think he was going to. To see him play the back nine the way he did was a real dream because, you know, how many more times was I going to see Jack Nicklaus in a situation like that

I've not given up hope the belly-putter will be banned. The R and A and the USGA are looking at it right now.

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.

He's there all the time. The rest of us, we're in and out the rest of the time. So yes, he's winning. But there is competition.

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.

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.

I had a bit of a rough start there and made some good par putts on the first two holes,

It's almost normal for me here. I'm always kind of chasing here. It's nice to have a chance.

I've been playing consistently well for three years now, but Tiger's record speaks for itself - eight majors.

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 p

I have got things in place a lot better than I had them in the past. I would say that's different. I've got clear goals again and I'm looking forward to playing. I've got some energy again.

I actually feel pretty nervous about playing again, ... I've spoken to a few guys who had a similar experience to me, with not being able to play because of injury. They all said the same thing. When you come back, there's that extra element of the unknown, which we're not used to. But nerves aren't a bad thing.

I'm very excited and, to be honest with you, I feel really fortunate to have my health back and to be in a position to play again, ... My game feels like it's in pretty nice shape.

taking the game to all corners of the globe. They criticize him for it, saying it holds him back. What they don't understand is that he cares about the game and where it's going. They have no idea how much passion he has. I see it up close. He can be a ha

Right now the plan is to come back for the South African Open in December,

Felt I should have won that one, to be honest with you.

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.

I'm jogging at the moment.

Obviously my game wasn't too good at Augusta, I had a couple of technical faults, the posture wasn't too good. It's a bit unfortunate because I was playing a lot of good golf, but when I got sick (flu) before The Masters, that was bad timing and I wasn't quite myself.

The golf course beat me up on the back nine today,

It's very tough. If we have tough weather conditions, it's going to be a very tough week. Where it used to be kind of the most fun of all the majors, it's becoming the hardest one now. The changes are quite major.

It's a real confidence builder after such a long layoff. I was swinging the club well and hitting the ball great, and I was delighted to be back in contention.

Tiger is looking good after his victory in the United States isn't he. But I've won here before and I like the course. I feel comfortable.

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.

It was a nice round of golf and I needed this. (The knee is) not going to be 100 percent for another six months. I'm just thankful to be walking.

I've had so many good tournaments here through the years, and a couple of close calls. I've done almost everything but win.

That's been my game plan ever since yesterday evening.

You can't really look at the rest of the field. You have to play the golf course and play your score and try and put something decent on the scoreboard and hope that it is good enough.

My dad told me that Seve said, You know, I tried very hard today. I played very well today. But, your son. Very special.' You can imagine my dad sitting there with tears in his eyes.

Experience is going to be big, even more than it used to be, because you're coming in with longer clubs and you've got to hit certain areas more than you used to. Over four days it's going to narrow the field dramatically.

I only made the water by maybe 3 yards on the left side.

Am I surprised Not really. The mainstream media forgets quickly from the previous week to the next week. That's how the whole world has gone. They keep saying, 'There's nobody challenging Tiger.' This group of players has been there for 25 straight majors.