Ernie Els Shot Quotations

Some players like to change clubs around the green to hit high or low shots. I play all of my short-game shots with my 54-degree sand wedge and change my ball position to hit it higher or lower. I think it's easier to learn one club than four.

Because of the grass and open face, I take one more club for shots from the rough, unless the ball is sitting on top of dry grass. Then, I use more loft and swing softer, trying to hit it about 70 percent to avoid a flyer over the green.

It was unbelievable, ... That's probably the loudest I've ever heard it. It was quite loud in '98 when I played with Jack, especially when he made a few birdies on the front nine. It was exciting. If you were watching on television, it must have been good. Kirk made that 1 in front of us on 16 -- I never saw the shot but I heard that roar, and then K.J. on 11, that ball never left the flag. It was great golf.

I think most amateurs dread playing a 180-plus-yard par 3 even more than a hard par 4. Part of it is psychological: You think you should be getting a breather, distance-wise, and instead, you get hit with a long iron or hybrid shot over trouble.

I plot the par 5s back from the green and make my plan. If I can reach the green in two shots, I'm going to be aggressive off the tee. But if 's a three-shot hole, the goal changes. You want to put yourself in position to hit your favorite shot to the green.

For the most part, when you play a full shot from the primary rough at your course, you're gauging how close to a standard shot you can hit based on your lie in the grass.

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 playoff. I had my chances, though.

Swinging harder with a longer club almost always leads to bad shots.

I was 27, and it seems like just yesterday. I remember a lot of shots I made, and when I made the putt at 18, it's probably the most emotion I've ever shown.

When you get to the tee on a really long par 5, I know what you're feeling. You want to let the shaft out on the driver and try to bomb it down there. I get the same feeling. But a big tee shot is not always the best strategy, especially on a long hole.

I almost never hit a shot all out, and I make a conscious effort to swing my long clubs just as I do my wedges. Keep this in mind when hitting your fairway woods.

Their plan is to bring the course back to where they used to play the shots into the greens in the '60s and '70s. We've just got to give it time and see where it goes.

I've shot 69 but I feel like I've left some shots out there today,

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.