"I was a bit more theatrical than he was but Ernie was right, I was wrong."
/Usually with these boondoggle redos in the name of combating technology it takes some time before changes to the changes are announced, so to see a concession by Wentworth owner Richard Caring after just 36 holes of the BMW speaks to the sheer hideousness of the new 18th hole.
"The green could be slightly lower, which is what (designer) Ernie Els wanted to do," conceded Caring.
"I was a bit more theatrical than he was but Ernie was right, I was wrong."
Els wasn't holding back either.
"I knew it (the 18th) was going to be a problem," said Els. "You have to keep the owner and players happy, but as a designer you have your own philosophy to follow.
"It was all approved and then it changed again and I was a little disappointed about that.
And now the truth comes out.
"But we've got an owner who has invested a lot of money, is a keen golfer and wanted to see some drama.
"He didn't want to see 18 under par winning anymore, so we said we'd achieve that.
There's something to be proud of.
And Caring also talked just a bit too much.
Alistair Tait noted that it's not just the 18th they'll be fixing.
The other tweaks will probably come at the eighth and 12th holes. The par-4 eighth features a water hazard in front of a small, raised green that is hard to hold. The 12th, meanwhile, has been turned from a par 5 to a par 4. However, the green is not designed to accept a long iron shot.
Look for both to be changed along with No. 18 before the 2011 BMW PGA Championship. Those changes will please Europe’s elite and restore Els’s reputation as a course designer.
Oh, we'll see.