Els: Major opportunity
It's an opportunity for a lot of guys. You look at guys who have not won majors, who at my age or even past my age who are playing well this year, they can break through.
Ernie Els
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Ernie Els is adamant the USPGA Championship will not be devalued by Tiger Woods' absence and thinks it provides an opportunity to educate the public about the depth of talent in world golf.
Woods will miss out on the opportunity to clinch a third straight USPGA crown as he continues his rehabilitation from reconstructive knee surgery.
Some observers feel the loss of the world number one removes a large chunk of the tournament's prestige, but Els insists the game remains bigger than any one individual and cited Padraig Harrington's superb win at last month's Open Championship as proof that victory this week will not be tarnished.
"It's an opportunity for a lot of guys," the South African stated. "You look at guys who have not won majors, who at my age or even past my age who are playing well this year, they can break through.
"If you look at the world rankings from fifth to 20th, there are a lot of guys very bunched and playing very good golf.
"So there are so many guys that can win, and I feel it's exciting times.
"You guys can talk about players that you would never talk about if Tiger was around. So I think for the whole game, you can kind of educate the public about more players, too. "So it's kind of nice.
"We don't have the best player in the world here right now, and I think that will be remembered for a very short amount of time, and all due respect to Tiger.
"I think Tiger will agree with me; the game of golf is bigger and will be bigger than any player.
"We've gone through all the generations, from the Walter Hagens, the Ben Hogans, the Byron Nelsons, the Nicklaus's, the Players, and we end up now with Tiger Woods. So the game will move on and keep evolving.
"Although we will miss him here and I'm sure there will be some talk about it, but it will definitely not be on the headline.
"If you look at (Padraig) Harrington's win at the Open Championship, the great golf shot he hit into 17, 18; the way he played the final five, six holes, is just phenomenal golf.
"So I'm actually quite proud people haven't really talked down on the champions so far, because they have played some excellent golf and the golf has been at a very high standard.
"Again, the game of golf is bigger than most of the guys, or anybody."
Positive memories of Oakland Hills
Els has positive memories of this year's venue, Oakland Hills, having finished tied fifth over the same lay-out at the 1996 US Open.
The course has undergone some very significant changes since then, most notably having increased substantially in distance, but, despite that, Els claims it retains a lot of similarities.
"It's very similar," he added. "Playing very similar clubs into the par fours than we did in 96.
"Obviously technology has moved on since then, so I think the changes they have made has been good, because we are hitting, as I say, the same kind of clubs in there.
"The greens are exactly the same. These are probably some of the toughest greens you'll ever see, and a lot of slope, a lot of undulation. You get above the hole, very fast; and then obviously the rough is up.
"So the whole golf course really feels and plays like a major should be, so I think we're in for a tough week, but a very fair week."
