ONE EL OF A TIME
E RNIE Els landed his first major championship at the age of 24 on a classic course in Pennsylvania when he survived a 20-hole play-off in searing heat with American Loren Roberts and Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie at the 1994 US Open.
It was two days after Ray Houghton’s magical goal had defeated Italy at Giants Stadium and three days on from O.J.’s infamous drive across Los Angeles in a white Ford Bronco and as Els, Monty and Roberts went into a Monday play-off, the Nicole Simpson murder case was dominated television screens.
“Tell you how wild the whole thing was,” Els recalled. “I have a TV tape from ABC of the last round of that Open. And in between the golf, they’re going back to O.J. By this time, though, all the camera crews are surrounding his house. Because it’s Monday and we’re in a play-off, which was also crazy.”
On the course, Montgomerie was wilting, no doubt debilitated in 100-degree heat by his choice of an all-black outfit. He dropped out after 18 holes and Els secured the title with a winning par putt at the second extra hole to beat Roberts, dubbed the ‘Boss of the Moss’ for his putting prowess.
By that stage, Els just wanted a cold beer. His birdie putt had rolled three-and-a-half feet past the hole and he muttered to himself: “‘What the hell are you doing man?’ “I didn’t take too much time on that second one,” the South African said of the par putt. “I just wanted to get it in the hole and get this thing over with and that’s what I did.”
Els would win a second US Open, at Congressional in 1997, and then an Open Championship, at Muirfield in 2002, but it was his maiden major in 1994 that was the most significant. “Oakmont was a huge breakthrough. It was almost like a bit of a shock the way it happened. I was only 24 but you’d rather win something like that at an early age than — I see now how tough it is to win a major, you know.
“So when it happened, it was quite a shock, but it was something that I needed and it really jump started my career. Put a bit more pressure on my career, but I felt I could cope with that. I felt there was a lot more to come.” Such was the confidence of youth. Els had grown up in South Africa believing greatness was his destiny; he was the only one not taken aback in these days before Tiger that such a young man could win a major.
“I always I thought I had it in me to win majors. I always felt quite confident that I eventually would win majors. I always had dreams of winning quite a few.
“So in ‘94 going to Oakmont I had some form. I finished second to Lee Janzen the week before at the Buick Classic at Westchester, which is a very, U.S. Open-type venue. I felt very at ease with my game. I played some good golf. I had some good finishes in Europe, also. I felt quite confident. At 24 there’s not too much fear around; you haven’t had too many disappointments. I felt good with the course and everything else.
“I felt it was my time to win, basically. And when you feel that confident you know you can do it. So that was going to be my first win of many; that’s the way I thought.”
Though Els only got his first sight of Oakmont on the Monday before the first round, he felt like he knew the place. “Well, I did watch the US Open,” he said. “The ‘83 US Open where Larry Nelson won. And I remember Seve, who never really contended in US Opens, he was a contender that week. I remember watching him and really cheering him on from South Africa. And obviously I saw some of the holes being played, how they played them.
“I remember the weather in ‘83 was overcast. I remember the ball stopping on the greens. So when I got there it was a little different. The greens were rock hard.
“I had a feeling of how to play some of the holes. I just tried to play it the way they did it. I was so young, at 24, playing your second US Open, I was just excited to be there. “The week went great. I remember Saturday I played some of the best golf, even to today, the front nine of the Saturday round, I had a putt for 29 on the ninth green. I missed that, I shot 30.
“Then, obviously I guess, reality set in the last three or four holes of Sunday when I bogeyed 16 and 18. Then the play-off that Monday, I don’t remember much of that play-off. Don’t ask me why, but all I know is I made a lot of putts that day because I was putting for pars almost on every hole and kept making them. It was a weird and wonderful week. I bogeyed 16 and I did not birdie 17, then I bogeyed 18 to get into a play-off. Though the memories of that Monday’s play-off 13 years ago are hazy, Els said he hadn’t forgotten Monty all dressed in black. “It was so warm — it was even warmer that Monday morning than during the week. Who knows why he wore what he wore.
“I was hot, and I’m from South Africa. Every day, it felt like 100 degrees, never a breeze, all that humidity. I figured the weather would be to my advantage, but the whole thing is pretty fuzzy to me. The weather wasn’t the only thing that was extremely hot that day. So was Els’ putter.
“Especially on that Monday play-off. I could have shot anything. But I kept making putts. It seemed like I made a 10-footer or 12-footer on every hole, whether it was for par or birdie. I’m looking forward to getting back there.”
The youthful exuberance has left Els, now 37, and his objectives heading back to Oakmont have also changed, he said. “All I want to do is just get my game where it should be and when I get it there, I feel I’m going to win tournaments again. So I’m really working hard on that.” Oakmont will be a lot different to the layout Els conquered 13 years ago, with more than 5,000 trees having been removed to return the course to its original ‘inland links’ look and feel.
“I haven’t seen Oakmont since all the trees have left the place,” Els said. “You know, it’s hard to imagine that we’re going to go there and there’s not going to be any trees. Those trees were huge. I want to go there for a day or two and go check it out before the tournament.
“But that might well be the most difficult of all of them, even including Bethpage. There’s new length in there. Bunkering is unbelievable around Oakmont. The greens are the quickest we face. It’s a fair test, I’m looking forward to it.” Another change will be the Els accommodation. “We’re going to get a house this year. Go have a beer there maybe.” Wherever he lays his hat, Els feels the time is right for a return to winning ways.
“I thought about it the other day. It’s amazing how time flies out here. 2002 was the last time I won a major. Before that it was another five years. Before that it was another five. So every five years looks like it’s my cycle,” he smiles. Maybe....
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