Ernie’s US Open Report

16 Jun

There’s only one way to start this report and that’s by congratulating my fellow SAP ambassador Martin Kaymer on an incredible performance to claim his second major.

The eight-shot margin of victory certainly doesn’t flatter him; he was really in a class of his own out there.

The golf course was unbelievably good, but extremely demanding. If you were a little off with those shots into and around the greens, you were in for a tough time. To be honest, you were in for a tough time if any part of your game wasn’t totally dialed-in and it was easy to shoot some high numbers. I can’t praise Pinehurst highly enough, though. The set-up was so much better than in ’99 and ’05 and I really hope that we go back again sooner than 10 years. It’s such a great course and everything fits so well in terms of the players’ facilities. It was perfect – the crowds, the weather and the golf course – all absolutely perfect.

U.S. Open - Round Two

Anyway, moving from one great venue to another. The next tournament on my schedule, starting on June 26, is the Quicken Loans National at Congressional CC, where I won my second US Open in 1997. They made me a member there after that win, which was a great honor and still is. Congressional will forever have a place in my top-10 favourite golf courses in America.

It’s a very different course now compared to when I won there – not least the fact that the closing hole is the old 17th, the hole where I hit maybe the best shot of my career in that final round back in ’97. Having played there again in the 2011 US Open, I have to say I like the new configuration. The guys did a great job on an historic layout.

Despite all the changes, though, this is still Congressional and it will always have the same good vibes, the same great memories from ’97. The thing that week, the really big thing, was my putting. I made some really important saves over the first three days and that gave me a lot of belief going into my final round. You need that belief in any tournament, but especially in the final round of a major championship. Then on that Sunday I remember holing a chip on the 10th for birdie, which gave me a share of the lead, and then made a few nice little knee-knockers coming down the stretch. Even the putt on 18 to win was no gimme. It was at least four feet, but I hit a sweet putt into the heart of the cup. That’s the best feeling in the world right there!

Funnily enough, when I think back there are some parallels in my game now to when I was getting ready to play Congressional in the 1997 US Open. Back then, my results in the build-up were not great, but I felt like I was playing better than I was scoring. It’s the same this year. I feel like I’ve been playing pretty well for a while, but I’m not getting it all together and my results reflect that. There have been good phases of play, some good rounds, but not four good rounds in the same week.

Obviously we’re working hard to turn that around and you could say we have a quite intense summer program ahead. For one thing, I’m working a lot more in the gym than I used to, so my body feels really good and flexible. I’m still hitting it out there with some of the young guys and my ball striking is as good as it’s ever been. Honestly, I love this game so much that I want to try and get as much out of it as I can for as long as I can, which is why I’m taking my physical conditioning as seriously as I am. The technical golf side hasn’t really kicked in 100 per cent yet, but I feel good about things, especially the putting. That’s definitely coming around and I think going forward Sherylle #EyeGym and myself can work very efficiently and produce some good results.

So really, we’re looking at every aspect – from my golf game, to my physical conditioning, to the mental side. We’re leaving no stone unturned and if I can put that whole package together, I still believe I can win majors again. That’s the plan and we’re sticking to it.

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