WEDNESDAY, 10.00AM:
SOUTH AFRICAN golfing hero Ernie Els will break his commitment to the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan for the second year running, to represent South Africa in the World Cup of Golf at Kiawah Island in the United States.
Els won the 1996 World Cup in partnership with Wayne Westner in Somerset West, South Africa, and will make up this year’s delegation with David Frost. Els turned down the Phoenix appearance last year, as the two events were planned for the same week, and announced his intention to participate in 1997.
But the scheduling clash happened again this year, and Els’s manager Nic Frangos said on Tuesday he is turning down the Phoenix opportunity again. “It was always an issue. But after a serious rethink we decided to play the World Cup after all. It’s only right, and it’s what Ernie wanted right from the start.”