Ernie Els likes chocolate

I was sick on Friday, the second day of the tournament, but was back out there again on Saturday, which proved to be one of the coldest days in months. When I arrived at the golf club I was feeling unprepared, as the wind made the course almost unbearable at times; the players must have been even more baffled by the weather, I don't think the image of 'Korea's Hawaii' quite fits the bill.

After asking around, I managed to get a Ballantine's sweater to put on; it helped a lot, and was a nice addition to the Ballantine's hat I already had. We got to the course much later on Saturday, around 9:45 am, but soon found out that tee off was delayed due to fog on the course. Play resumed at 10:00, so we had time to figure out who we wanted to follow for the day and get out there.

Brian and I both agreed upon who we wanted to follow: Ernie Els, The Big Easy.


Despite the incredibly violent winds, Els was having a a pretty good round after the first few holes. Near the fifth tee is a small rest area, where they have snacks and drinks, as well as a heater; everyone piled into the small room to get as warm as they possibly could before getting back out on the course, even The Big Easy himself.

When he walked past Brian and I, I was surprised at first, but he went immediately to the service counter and was asking the attendant whether he had to pay or not to get a chocolate bar. She was quite confused at his request, but it was quickly resolved when a spectator stepped in and offered to buy the chocolate bar for him.



Brian and I were both very amused about the whole situation; it's not everyday that you get to see something as incidental as a professional athlete eating a chocolate bar amongst the gallery.



After he finished his quick snack, Els was back out there to tee off onto the 202 yard par 3. The view was impressive, with Sangbansan and the coast rising above the horizon; if the weather had been more co-operating I probably would have enjoyed it.

By this point in time, my fingers were numb and all I could think about was being warm inside the media lunch tent. On the next hole I decided it was time to put away my HDV camera, as the wind was just too much to get anything worth editing.

You can see for yourself as Els loses his hat to the wind on the 6th tee:



We moved quickly across the sixth and onto the seventh hole, trying to keep warm by moving. I started thinking about the worst conditions these players have ever played under, and whether this would have made the top ten; I've certainly never seen anything as fierce in my experience.



Els again on the seventh fairway:



His approach shot onto the seventh green was one of the best that I've seen during the tournament, and under such circumstances it's even more impressive.



Once his group has finished the hole, Brian and I decided that we had enough of the cold and wind, and headed back towards the Media Centre for another glorious buffet lunch.



The feeling of a warm room, good food, and a comfortable seat was bliss; I just wanted to stay there the rest of the day, but I knew we had to press on. Rather than joining back up with Els, we met up with Fred Couples and his group on the 18th green.



He wasn't having as good a day as Els and finished 5 over par for the day. His reaction to the winds explains it all:


When Couples had finished, we took our leave of the day, and meandered on over to the Ballantine's bar outside the clubhouse; nothing like a 17 year old scotch on the rocks after a long, cold and windy day of work.



I was praying that the weather would be better tomorrow, but somehow I knew that was asking too much.

Photos by Brian Miller