ernie els appreciation thread

[kobayashi]

yeah!
my man ernie is back on top after this week. els had a great tourney before having to hold off woods-he did so with great composure, twice on saturday he followed bogeys with 3 straight birds.

he has a plan whereby he will be challenging woods and possibly garcia for the top spot in the world rankings next year.

yay ernie!

------------------
The liquid engineers left the pool heater on too long, and at night, chlorine vapors rose above the plant life of the planet, and I imagined my flesh, being inside the pool, being warm, and protected, feeling gravity, but able to mock it as I floated. Would you float with me now, if I asked you, would you jump in the pool and not even bother to strip? Could I strip you down, remove your clothing and we would fall inside the water together?

It scares me.

[This message has been edited by kobayashi (edited 03-03-2002).]

 

[brettig]

yay a golf thread

Ernie is great, and i was delighted to see peter lonard and Steve elkington in 3rd and 5th respectively...

discuss this with u later kobe

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Originally posted by kobayashi:

he has a plan whereby he will be challenging woods and possibly garcia for the top spot in the world rankings next year.

I like Ernie's game a lot too, but the only way he will consistently beat Woods is to have Tonya Harding go after Tiger's knee.

Seriously, the difference between Tiger and Els, Garcia, Mickleson, Duval, etc is that when any of those other guys have their "A" game, they'll win by a couple of shots. When Tiger has his going, it's no contest.

 

[brettig]

Originally posted by Clark W. Griswold, Jr:
When Tiger has his going, it's no contest.

I disagree. Did u see the 2000 PGA Championship? Tiger had his A game there and it was verymuch a contest.

 

[kobayashi]

Originally posted by brettig:
I disagree. Did u see the 2000 PGA Championship? Tiger had his A game there and it was verymuch a contest.

i think you are both right. tiger is most definetely human and on any given weekend he should be percieved as beatable. but when he does turn it on he can run away with it like nobody else. luckily for the rest of the field this type of occurance is proving to be the exception rather than the rule.

we'll have to see how tiger does tommorow.

tough day for appleby so far brettig, hope to see his 2nd pick up tommorow.

 

[brettig]

Go the Elk!!!!!

 

[kobayashi]

now i'm not the biggest fan of monty but it is stuff like this that is uncalled for on the course.

www.pgatour.com
Monty mad again
Colin Montgomerie had enough to be angry about, even without discussing a couple of hecklers who disrupted his round on the 16th hole.

Montgomerie hit his drive 246 yards on the par-5 hole, well behind his two playing partners. A fan yelled "take the headcover off the club this time." Montgomerie backed off his next shot a couple of times to gain his composure.

That didn't help. He knocked his third shot in the water and made bogey. It was part of a disappointing round of 76 that left him at 2 over, unsure of whether he'll make the cut.

Asked by a British reporter if alcohol might have gotten to a couple of fans, Montgomerie snapped back, "Don't mention that," before heading off to the clubhouse.

Montgomerie considered not returning to play in America after being jeered during the Match Play Championship last month.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Originally posted by brettig:
I disagree. Did u see the 2000 PGA Championship? Tiger had his A game there and it was verymuch a contest.

Yeah, that was one for the ages, but I wouldn't consider that his A game, even though he and Bob May were both 20 under. Woods fought his swing all week while May basically played the four rounds of his life. If you look at the final results, most of the field was well under par that year. Valhalla (sp?) is a joke and the players treated it like an executive course. Even Nicklaus (who designed it) conceeds it isn't anywhere near his best work.

Examples of Tiger's A game are the 2000 US Open, when he "edged" Ernie and the rest of the field by 15 shots. Or St. Andrew's later that summer when he almost looked bored out there in the final round.

He has come back down to earth, which was inevitable. But the plain truth is, when he's on, Forget It!

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Originally posted by kobayashi:
now i'm not the biggest fan of monty but it is stuff like this that is uncalled for on the course.

This stuff happens to a lot of players. Monty needs to get over it. Woods still gets the "Good Ole Boy" treatment at some private clubs. He uses it as motivation.

 

[brettig]

point taken, but i think its fair to say that for most of 2000 Woods competitors were psyched out, and when anyone was anywhere close to him they collapsed, aside from Bob May and Mickelson at the Tour Championship. A psyched up Ernie Els, Garcia or Duval are as formidable as Tiger imo...its just that they dont do it as often as the number 1, and thats a mental problem.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Originally posted by brettig:
point taken, but i think its fair to say that for most of 2000 Woods competitors were psyched out, and when anyone was anywhere close to him they collapsed, aside from Bob May and Mickelson at the Tour Championship. A psyched up Ernie Els, Garcia or Duval are as formidable as Tiger imo...its just that they dont do it as often as the number 1, and thats a mental problem.

Correct. The mental side of the game is what usually separates #1 from everyone else-- in any sport. That's the problem as I see it with golf now. You've got maybe one guy (Garcia) who has the mental game to challenge Woods. Too bad his swing is too inconsistent. When Nicklaus was in his prime he got competition from guys with considerably less talent, but had the mental game together.

Like Lee Trevino and Ray Floyd. Would you ever tell a novice player to copy either of those swings? But they had that mental toughness. What was it Trevino said about pressure in tournaments?

"This isn't pressure. Pressure is playing for $20 when you only have ten in your pocket."


These guys don't have it:

Duval- Putter (read nerves) abandons him at critical times.

Mickleson- If the wind is right, you can smell Phil shitting himself on the back nine on Sunday afternoon in a major championship. Thank God for him Buick sponsors 3 events per year. Oh well, Phil, you'll always be the "Terror of Torry Pines"

Westwood- partyboy, I've heard.

Monty- Too short (in temper and off the tee).

Els- Best of the bunch mentally, but seems to lose concentration once in a while.

Charles Howell III and the Rest of the College Boys- They shoot their mouths off about how they're going to challenge Tiger when they haven't done anything yet...

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

BTW What ever happened to the young player from the UK who played so well at Royal Birkdale a few years ago? Wasn't his name Justin Rose or something?

 

[brettig]

Els is good mentally...but he just never seems to get angry or bloodyminded enough to win.

What u said about the young guys is interesting...thats why i really rate Adam Scott as a chance in future. As a guy whose played alongside Tiger so much (both coached by Harmon), he knows his limitations and how much he needs to improve his game. Hes a softly spoken guy but steely determined and very talented.

Yes the guy youre talking about is Justin Rose. After the 98 Open he immediately turned pro at 18 and subsequently missed 20 or so successive cuts on the Euro Tour. But he won his card back and had a solid year last year. This year he won his 1st Euro Tour event in south Africa and is currently 21st on their Money List. Im sure youll see him contend in a few more British Opens in future.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Originally posted by brettig:
Els is good mentally...but he just never seems to get angry or bloodyminded enough to win.

I suppose this is what I was getting at. I sometimes wander about the "desire" thing with him. Could be that he's just so laid back personality-wise.


i really rate Adam Scott as a chance in future.

Yeah, Scott, I'd forgotten about him. (Probably because he doesn't talk smack like the other youngins') He seems to be a keeper so far.

After the 98 Open he immediately turned pro at 18 and subsequently missed 20 or so successive cuts on the Euro Tour.

When Rose turned pro right away I was thinking "Dude, that's a mistake." Glad to see he righted the ship. Most of the time kids that young don't ever recover.


All this talk has gotten me itching to hit the links myself. We should organize the "Interference Open" Are there any good courses close to Slane?

 

[brettig]

Im sure there are...the irish have plenty of nice layouts...

So whose gonna win this weekend?

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Originally posted by brettig:
Im sure there are...the irish have plenty of nice layouts...

So whose gonna win this weekend?

Player's Championship second-round scores

(SUSPENDED DUE TO DARKNESS)
(Par=72)

6 under
Carl Paulson 69-69--138
5-under
Craig Perks 71-68--139
Phil Mickelson 64-75--139
Jeff Sluman (still on course)
4-under
Michael Campbell 72-68--140
3-under
David Gossett 69-72--141
Chris DiMarco 66-75--141
Nick Faldo 68-73--141
2-under
Sergio Garcia 70-72--142
Mark Brooks 72-70--142
Billy Andrade 73-69--142
Steve Elkington 74-68--142
John Huston 73-69--142
1-under
Angel Cabrera 71-72--143
Mike Weir 70-73--143
Loren Roberts 72-71--143
Craig Stadler 71-72--143
Steve Stricker 69-74--143
Tiger Woods 71-72--143
Brandel Chamblee 74-69--143
Stephen Ames 74-69--143
David Duval 68-75--143
Dudley Hart 71-72--143
even
Briny Baird 71-73--144
Carlos Franco 75-69--144
Harrison Frazar 73-71--144
Scott Simpson 72-72--144
Tim Herron 71-73--144
Scott Hoch 67-77--144
Jonathan Kaye 72-72--144
Neal Lancaster 73-71--144
Shigeki Maruyama 72-72--144


Wide open race still. Tiger within striking distance, but nothing seems to be happening for him so far. Nothing a 65 couldn't change. Phil might win if he wears a thick diaper for his tee ball on the 17th. Sluman's presense is worth noting...


[This message has been edited by Clark W. Griswold, Jr (edited 03-23-2002).]

 

[brettig]

So is Elkington's, i think if i had to decide which of the two had the better looking swing id go into seizure.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Originally posted by brettig:
So is Elkington's, i think if i had to decide which of the two had the better looking swing id go into seizure.

Elk's a fine player, but I'm not sure if Sawgrass is the course for him. (or any of the Euro/Aussie contingent for that matter.) Having said that, if the wind continues to blow, then all bets are off.

 

[brettig]

He's won there twice!!! 1991 and 1997 when he finished 7 shots clear of the next guy. If Tiger hadnt won the Masters as easily as he did a couple weeks later then Elk's win woulda got alot more acclaim. Which is partly why Id like to see the Players Championship moved to after the Masters.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Originally posted by *******:
He's won there twice!!!

Oops!, you're right. What was I thinking? Anyway, who is this Perks guy? A little wobbly on 18th hole, but other than that, a great round on Sunday.

 

[brettig]

Hes a kiwi, so we aussies claim him