Els looks to next major after Open woes
SOUTHPORT, England — As he stood by the 18th green at Royal Birkdale on Sunday, Ernie Els admitted that he lost any chance of winning a second British Open title three days earlier, on Thursday afternoon.
That was when the 2002 Open champion covered the last nine holes of the first round in an abysmal 45 strokes for a round of 80, his worst ever score in his favorite major championship.
"I played myself out of the tournament, going nine over in nine holes," Els said. "How do you come back from that?"
You don't. But Els gave a good account of himself nonetheless. It's a testament to the South African's resilience that he might still find himself inside the top ten by day's end. On Sunday Els shot a one-under-par 69, the second time he has broken par in brutal winds since his horrific first round. He made two birdies against just one bogey to finish at 12 over, good enough to tie for seventh.
"At least I managed to break par twice. I can look forward to the next major," Els said. "I'm doing quite a few things right. It was just a battle out there. It's been a tough week but at least I gave it my best shot."
Els will go to Las Vegas to work with coach Butch Harmon in advance of next month's PGA Championship at Oakland Hills near Detroit, an event he has never won. "I've got one major left and I'm going to work my tail off," Els said. "I'll go and see Butch this week and sort out all the doubts I have in my technique. Then hopefully I'll be able to really compete."
"I'll get ready for the next one," he added. "It's a good thing it's in two weeks time."
Posted by: Gustavo Millan | Jul 23, 2008 10:56:07 AM
Ernie es un golfista apreciado y respetado en todo el mundo. Lo que necesita es dejar a Harmon y contratar a Hank Haney ( desde 2005, Haney 6 majors, Harmon 0 ).
Posted by: alessandro | Jul 22, 2008 6:45:56 AM
Well well....in fact Ernie has not done very much in the last year ( by his standards), but i think he's not done yet he just needs to tune up a bit the changes he's making and get adjusted with his life and taking care of his family and the son who needs special attention.
Posted by: Mark | Jul 21, 2008 12:16:58 PM
Respectfully, Ernie, as am I, is the father of an autistic child. Unless you are also similarily situated, you can not imagine the stress, exhaustion and depression that accompanies the job. I promise his priorities are no longer golf #1. Give him time to cope and adjust. Me, I've gone from a 4 hdcp to playing 2x a year now. But, I did shoot 76 yesterday (Norman inspiration I believe) ;-)
Posted by: roar | Jul 21, 2008 5:45:56 AM
Agree with andrew. It is all about what he says. If Ernie started taking care of his body,,his mind will follow! Why does he think Tiger is optimising everything? Kim is teh man for The PGA! Ernie read The China Study! It is all about what you need!
Posted by: Andrew | Jul 20, 2008 11:14:11 PM
Ernie needs to get serious about winning. Put on some jogging shoes, do the gym and watch what he eats. I watched Ernie winning an amateur event when he was 16 years old. He didn't need a psychologist then and he does not need one now. One learns how to win on your own. Looking to a psychologist amounts to just another excuse for losing.