«I love Orlando, Florida, where we live, too, ... I love the people in the U.S. The sports are different [there are no cricket scores in the newspaper]. We don't talk the same language in sports. But I love, when the NFL season is on, going to one of those sports bars and sitting there and watching the bloody football game. I love it. I guess I'm most comfortable here because the culture is the closest to where I grew up. You know, the English used to rule us. When they left in '61, they didn't leave us a great plan.»

«My dad told me that Seve said, You know, I tried very hard today. I played very well today. But, your son. Very special.' You can imagine my dad sitting there with tears in his eyes.»

«and He gave me something back. He gave me Ernie.»

«[The ending is happy, as Els' endings tend to be.] The last six or seven years now, ... we have become best friends. At first Dirk got into the transport business, like my dad. He completely modernized Dad's operation. Dirk's got a great mind. He's a guy who wants to go forward in life. But I could tell he didn't really love the transport business. Come with me,' I said, and he did. Now we're together, working in golf course design, and having so much fun. We're getting ready to do something with Jack Nicklaus. Dirk has a gift for it, a real talent. He's great.»

«[In a way, Arnold Palmer discov-ered Els, and in another way, Ernie found the other four members of the Big Five. Playing in his first American major, the 1992 PGA Championship, Els drew Palmer for the only two rounds either of them played.] He was 62, ... I remember the handshake he gave me on the first tee. It was a big deal for me, a little bit too big. I never saw a gallery like that. It was my introduction to everything. I don't know why they put me with Arnold Palmer. I guess I would have had a better chance if I'd played with Greg Kraft. But I'm glad they did.»

«I met Vijay in 1991 in Santa Ponsa, Majorca, OK? I saw this Indian guy down the fairway. He always used to wear these white pants and this whiter-than-white glove and this red shirt. Snazzy dresser. Friendly guy. Always hanging around with the South Africans, around Blandy [John Bland], Tony Johnstone, Justin Hobday, you know. Just trying to survive, to make a check. Vijay blended right in with our guys.»

«I look at Samantha, ... and I think to myself, She'll be 16, and I'll be done. I'll be 45.»

«[A 66 at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in the 1996 British Open convinced Woods he was ready, and Els was the first person he told. (The secret was kept for a month, until Tiger had collected his third Amateur title.) Ernie tied for second at Lytham, Woods for 22nd (low amateur), so their presence was required at Tom Lehman's crowning. Afterward, in the clubhouse bar, they had a beer.] I don't have to tell you, ... you're more than good enough to be playing out here.»

«taking the game to all corners of the globe. They criticize him for it, saying it holds him back. What they don't understand is that he cares about the game and where it's going. They have no idea how much passion he has. I see it up close. He can be a hard man with me. Sometimes, you have to have that edge, you know, to get to where you are going, to be at the top of that tree. He'll have flashes of temper, believe me. It happens, and then it's over. That's it.»

«You have to go back, man. You have to. It's now in the hands of the black man, as it should have been before Nelson Mandela was put in jail. We'd be so much further along. You're from Chicago, so you know the really good things and the really bad things about Chicago. Johannesburg is a big city, too, and it still has a big city's crime, but less. Less. It's easing off. It's better. If you really know Johannesburg, it's a beautiful place. You have to come check out the change.»