During the press conference for the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters 2013 held at Sari Pan Pacific Hotel on 4th April, a live video connection was set up with Ernie Els, who at that time was in Florida getting ready for The Masters at Augusta. Ernie was asked about his experiences playing in Indonesia and his expectations for the upcoming tournament.A transcript of the interview is here below:
Q: Hello Mr. Els. How are you?
E: I am good thank you
Q: Thank you for speaking to us so late in the evening there. We do apologize for it being a little bit delayed.
E: No worries, no worries. It’s good to talk to you guys.
Q: Fantastic. So just to let you know we are sitting here with the Indonesian media who are all very excited to see you come and play in the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters of course and we have a few questions for you, which I will ask you and then we will open the floor to the media who may want to ask you some questions themselves if that’s okay.
E: Of course.
Q: Okay, great. So we can start with the first one being: Have you ever played in Indonesia before and if yes, what’s your memory of being in our country?
E: Yeah. I was there quite a few years ago and we played in a tournament called the Super Tour. One of the stops was in Indonesia and I can’t quite remember what the course was. Actually we got to play in shorts on that day if I remember well. I remember it being very warm. That was a special event and it was a special day for us. Obviously very warm and we stayed overnight in Indonesia and it was a very nice hotel with a nice setting so I am excited to get back.
Q: Well we are excited to have you back here. So could you tell us about a day in the life of Ernie Els? How would you spend your average day?
E: Well I have just got back from Thailand and I must say that dealing with the time change is not very easy and this week has been slow actually. We arrived back from Thailand on Monday morning and I went straight to see a New York Yankees game because I am a Yankees fan so I actually went to watch the Yankees stadium with the SAP people. But the average day for me is... I have 2 kids. My kids are actually across the hall there in the movie theater with friends so they are making a little noise, but I asked them to be a little quiet now. Ben’s asleep already and I normally go to sleep about 9.30-10pm and wake up in the morning and drive them to school. Samantha’s got some tennis on this week so I’ll be watching a bit of tennis. Ben has his horse riding which he enjoys. So its very centered around the kids. I am also working on my game getting ready for the Masters. So I have my coach here and we are working on my short game and my putting. I heard they’ve cut the greens short so they will speed up so am working on the greens and tomorrow will play some golf with some of the South African boys. So just normal stuff.
Q: Well just so you know, we will all be cheering for you here Indonesia when you are at the Masters.
E: Thank you.
Q: So how do you feel about playing in the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters of course, with the likes of John Daly, Darren Clarke and Michael Campbell in the field, how are you liking your chances?
E: Well I recognize that they are Major winners and they will definitely enhance the field. You know I have been playing on the Asian Tour for the past year or so and I have seen some of the great talent coming through. So you may have star players in the field, but in Asia and to beat the Asian players, you are going to have to play very well. You know as I said, its great for the tournament to have Major Championship winners, but we have our work cut out for us. It's not necessarily the winner will come out of the star player line up you know, there is a big field you have to play against.
Q: Very true. Speaking of Major Championships, with your Open Championship last year, did that make you change your approach to the game?
E: Well yes it did you know. It gives you a pass for the next 5 years to play in Major Championships. I feel that with the right venue and my game in shape, I’ve got a chance to get into the competition in the highest level. You never know, you might squeeze one or two more out of the last few years of my career. I am 44 now and in 5 years time I will be 49 and almost ready for the Senior’s Tour. Its been a really nice way to get into the next 5 Majors so I really feel excited about it.
Q: Well we were very excited with your win. So you course design business is obviously very big in Asia. Have you got any plans for Indonesia?
E: Well...yeah. If there are any contacts there, let me know. Golf is growing so fast in Asia. They are a lot of markets. We are busy in Malaysia at the moment, creating venues where tournaments can come and showcase some of our venues. We are down in Desaru doing 27 holes and now we are doing 18 holes up in Langkawi. Very nice golf courses. Beautiful terrain to work with. We are busy talking to people in China and obviously Indonesia would be another great market. Indonesia is a one of the most populated areas in Asia with a lot of people and with golf growing so to build more golf courses seems very natural.
Q: Yes, well there are 35 golf courses in the Jakarta area and that’s not enough for us so am sure we would welcome a new course.
E: Well as I said I am happy to speak to people out there.
Q: We’ll send you their numbers. Now you have been a role model for many up and coming golfers, not only from your home country South Africa but also around the globe. How does that make you feel?
E: Well obviously good. I started the Ernie Els Golf Foundation in 1999. I always wanted to start something like that when I was young to give back to the game that has given me so much. You know, really trying to find talented players in South Africa and where we feel they really have a future in the game. And we are very fortunate to have chosen some really great talent that have won Major Championships now. I am actually playing with some of the guys tomorrow. Its nice to play with these guys who keep me on my toes, they have a lot of energy. I always remember their faces. It's nice for me to help them with some advise on how to get themselves into good form for the Masters next week and other tournaments. So its very nice to give something back. I had that through guys like Greg Norman and Nick Price who helped me a lot through my career.
Q: Great. So just 2 more questions. Everyone wants to know if you will be using your belly putter at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters?
E: Yes, I will. I am practicing with the belly. I played the last time in Thailand with the belly. Actually I was a little disappointment with missing quite a few putts. But that was my focus and my goal is to putt with the belly at the Masters and that’s what I will do and then after that I will go to the short putter. I really enjoy the short putter. Made some really nice putts from 15 to 20 feet especially in the third round in Thailand and I am very happy with the work I have put in and its starting to feel a bit more natural again but for the Masters I will try to win my last Major with the Belly.
Q: So this is my last question before I open it to the floor. If you could share one tip with golfers of the world, what would it be?
E: Well obviously from player to player it's different. But one tip would be to have the 3 fundamentals really set. Have a good grip, have a good posture and ball position and without that it would be tough to hit the ball properly. So it’s the fundamentals like in a lot of sports has to be right.
Q: Now we can open to floor for questions. Any questions from the floor?
JOURNALIST: Let him go to sleep.
Q: Did you hear that? They told me to let you go to sleep. Seems I have asked enough questions.
E: Well I am looking forward to coming over to Indonesia and Jakarta and playing in the CIMB Niaga tournament and we will see you guys soon and thank you very much for your time.
Q: Thank you too Mr. Els and we look forward to seeing you at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters 2013 from May 2-5th at Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
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