Ernie Els remains upbeat despite his round slipping away with a back nine 38 on Thursday at the US Open at Erin Hills.
Els closed with two bogeys and a number of par saves but is not beating himself up after letting a great round turn into a decent one during round one of the year’s second Major.
‘Yeah, it’s a shame the last two holes, but, you know, I could definitely play those holes better. So that’s a positive (laughing). So going into the next couple, I’d love to get that better,’ said Els.
‘But all in all, I’ve got to be happy. You take a 2-under par in the first round in the U.S. Open, you’re right there. I know Rickie played a great round, 7-under, but through experience you know that the field’s coming, the worst part. So we’ll see where it goes, but I’m happy with that first round.’
Els, who won the US Open 1994 and 1997, has had a poor season but his standard missing 10 of 15 cuts as injuries and age start to take their toll.
‘Yeah, the way I’ve been scoring has been awful this year. But physically I wasn’t great. A lot of times I had a couple of niggles and the lower back hip and shoulder and knee. So it’s really the first year that I’ve got experience with that, so it’s kind of new.
‘So I feel good this week. I’ve got my trainer Vern here, and I’m feeling a bit better. So I’m feeling really loose. That’s been nice. It’s nice to play pain free.
‘You know, I felt that some of my game is coming back. My putting’s back and short game’s pretty good. So I’ve just got to play golf.’
Els knows as well as anyone that you have to take the good with the bad in golf and is happy to grind it out when the going gets tough.
‘Yeah, you find if you get on a roll, you’ve got to really try and capitalize on that. Then when it gets kind of tough, you’ve got to grind it out.
‘Seems like my back nine, I had to do a lot of grinding right through there. When you make those par putts, they almost feel as good as a birdie putt. You know, you’ve been around quite a few of these, and you’ve got to keep grinding along and just keep trying to put a score on the boards. So that’s what the mindset is.
‘Yeah, I’ve been doing it all year (laughing). So, it’s nice to hit some good shots in there. Then you have to start grinding it and I’ve been doing that. So you’ve just got to kind of grit your teeth and try to make those par putts.
Els is currently T10.
Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
