Ernie’s Latest News – 28 June

28 Jun

You can’t help but have good vibes when you return to a special place like Congressional, especially for me having won one of my US Opens there.

Obviously, any time that you’re shooting 66s and 65s you’re going to be enjoying yourself…and I really did. It was great playing the first three days with Bill Haas, then the final round there with Billy Hurley III, and the support from the fans all week was just wonderful. Thank you also to everyone who has posted messages of support on our website and via Twitter and Facebook. It’s much appreciated.

Anyway, it feels like this was just the kind of golf that I’ve been threatening to produce in recent months. I was playing with a bit of confidence in my golf swing, we had some momentum out there, and there were lots of good things happening, the highlight being the slam-dunk eagle on the 12th hole on Saturday. That was an exciting moment and it’s nice when the game gives you something like that.

Also, my putter was pretty hot most of the way. I feel comfortable over the golf ball and I’m hitting a lot of positive putts and making my fair share, too. From being outside the top-170 in strokes gained putting in 2015, I’m now in 21st place. And last week at Congressional I was second in strokes gained putting and first in putts per green in regulation. That’s a whole world of difference. I’m enjoying putting again.

Ultimately, we came up a little short on Sunday, where my struggles off the tee just caught up with me a little bit. But, as I’ve said, this was a strong week and I’ll take only positives away with me. And hats off to Billy Hurley III on a wonderful victory. What a place to win your first PGA TOUR title, virtually in his home town, in the tournament that does so much to honour the US military for which Billy has such strong connections. And after such a tough year for him personally, too. I must say that as disappointed as I was not to have got the win, I couldn’t have been more pleased for Billy. He deserves this.

Congrats also to Tiger and everyone at Quicken Loans National on hosting another wonderful tournament. The golf course was presented beautifully and everything was, as always, perfect for the players. The amount raised for charity in the 20 years of the Tiger Woods Foundation says everything about the quality of this tournament and the goodwill we all have for Tiger and his Foundation, which does so much to help kids succeed in life.

Okay, this is a week off for me now and with The Open Championship only just around the corner, that’s my main focus. The way I played last week at Congressional, honestly I can’t wait to tee it up again!

That’s it for now. Just a quick congrats to the Springboks on their victory against the Irish in the final test in Port Elizabeth at the weekend. They ground it out in another tight match and showed great character and team spirit, I thought. Well done guys.

Follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.

Quicken Loans Review2

Sponsors

Partners

Connect

Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
© 2024, Ernie Els   A / A Website by Noesis