Party starts at Ernie's
Els proving he's the host with the most
By KEN FIDLIN -- Toronto Sun
GEORGE, South Africa -- Apparently there is a two-word response here for everything.
Ernie Els.
Looking for a stand-up guy to stop the bleeding?
Ernie Els.
Need someone to set the tone for a comeback?
Ernie Els.
Need someone to put on the marquee today against Tiger Woods?
Ernie Els.
Need a big, easy-drinking, life-restoring bottle of cabernet?
You guessed it: Ernie Els.
After yesterday's barely-believable comeback by the Internationals in this most unpredictable Presidents Cup, everyone was invoking Els' name.
On the 18th green, Ian Baker-Finch shouted out the Internationals' victory cry after Mike Weir and Robert Allenby had put the cap on a perfect 6-0 day.
"Ernie's place! More steak! More wine!" cried Baker-Finch, the assistant to International captain Gary Player.
Friday night, the Internationals had retreated to Els' seaside mansion in nearby Heroldsbay for a barbecue to salve their wounds after being whipped 5 1/2-1/2 by the United States.
That pummeling had put them three points down, a deficit that needed to be overcome if they had any hope of winning back the Cup today.
Now it is the Americans who are reeling, down 12 1/2 to 9 1/2 with a dozen singles matches on tap for today. However, anyone on the Internationals side who believes that to be insurmountable has no grasp of recent history. Many of these same Americans were in the lineup that ripped through the European singles lineup on the final day of the 1999 Ryder Cup in Boston, after falling behind by four points going into the last day.
Still, yesterday's matches provided some amazing theatre as, one after the other, the International stars put the boots to the U.S.
And to listen to them talk afterward, it all began with Els.
"We were all a little down coming off the course (Friday) but then Ernie chipped in to save that last match," Allenby said. "Right away, that took the edge off the loss.
"Then we all went to Ernie's place, had a great time and hardly said a word about golf."
"Good food, man, and a lot of sea air," said Els, passing on the doctor's prescription.
"We didn't talk about strategy. We just had a good time and put our feet up. We had a tough day yesterday. But a good one today. We made a good run."
You get the feeling that Ernie doesn't have too many bad days, with his relaxed attitude and his theory that a good time can soothe the spirit.
"We had some fun," Mike Weir said. "We popped a few Ernie Els Cabernets. Couple of big T-bone steaks and we all had a great time. He has a beautiful spot along the beach. Maybe we should go back there tonight. We'll have to talk to him about that."
Even at about 1,000 Rands a bottle ($200 Cdn), Els probably will be able to afford it. He doesn't own the winery but his name is on the bottle.
"I think most of us were in awe of Ernie's house," said Nick Price, who has seen a few palaces in his day.
"We laughed a lot. One thing about our team, there's no shortage of humour. There's a lot of clowns on our team. And Ernie just gave us the royal treatment."
Yesterday, he helped set the tone early as the Internationals gave the U.S. the royal flush.
Els and partner Tim Clark made an immediate, emphatic statement in the second match of the day, with birdies at the first two holes to grab a lightning advantage over Jim Furyk and Jay Haas.
They were in control all the way.
"It's momentum," said Stuart Appleby, who was in the final match of the day with playing partner Nick Price against Davis Love and David Toms.
Truth of the matter was, Price and Appleby have been two of the weaker links on this team, yet they were pulled right along by the others.
They fell behind early, rallied with a pair of birdies, fell back again, then took the lead for good when Appleby made a brilliant sand shot for an eagle at the short par-four 14th.
There were stories like that all over the golf course. A day like yesterday's doesn't happen without stout-hearted performances from most everybody on the team.
And it all started at Ernie's house.
