Galleri Classic: Els, Couples, Langer relish in their return to the Coachella Valley
Ernie Els, Fred Couples, and Bernhard Langer addressed the media on Thursday at Mission Hills Country Club ahead of the inaugural Galleri Classic. All are World Golf Hall of Fame members, and a combined seven major championships won between the threesome.
“We older players need to be playing here and we are. And I hope it lasts a long time,” said Couples.
“Probably some of the best fairways and greens I’ve seen in quite awhile,” said Langer.
“I’m not saying I’m healthy or totally fit but I’m good enough to play golf. I have my aches and pains like many at my age and I just deal with them and move on,” said Langer. “I love the camaraderie of this tour and I enjoy the places we get to go. And this is certainly one of the nicer ones.”
All smiles from @ChampionsTour’s finest! Els, Langer, Couples! Mission Hills CC / Rancho Mirage never disappoint 😁 ⛳️ ☀️
— Bailey Arredondo (@BaileyKESQ) March 23, 2023
LIVE coverage of @GalleriClassic with player sound and more tonight ➡️ @KESQ @BlakeArthur24 @Tarp1969 pic.twitter.com/1fovN45Eid
“It’s beautiful. Keep it like this. It’s absolutely fantastic and I have not been here in over 30 years,” said Ernie Els. “1991. So it’s nice to be back. I have a little different body than 30 years ago but this is a wonderful place to play golf.”
The Big Easy!
— Bailey Arredondo (@BaileyKESQ) March 23, 2023
4x Major Champ Ernie Els @TheBig_Easy doesn't just like In-N-Out...he loves it! Treated his wife to a nice send-off dinner leaving California ✈️ double-double style 😂🍔@GalleriClassic @KESQ @BlakeArthur24 @Tarp1969 @ErnieElsWinery @EE_Collection @ChampionsTour pic.twitter.com/34OEJro1ek
“Well this time of the year for us maybe it can become similar to the LPGA Dinah Shore legacy or The Masters,” said Couples. “For us to have a tournament here is pretty cool and this is a heck of a week to play.”
Stay with KESQ News Channel 3 for continuing coverage of the tournament.