Stuart Appleby rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt at the last to seize the second round lead at the US Open on Friday.
Ernie Els had a smile on his face after a birdie-birdie finish to Friday’s second round kept him in the title hunt for the US Open.
Ernie Els says he needs to work on his mental game ahead of the United States Open which tees off on June 12 at Torrey Pines in California. After missing consecutive cuts in his last two outings, Els has opted not to play in this week’s Stanford St Jude Championship in Memphis to concentrate on his preparation.
World number two Phil Mickelson, third-ranked Ernie Els and fourth-ranked Adam Scott will lead a strong field in the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond in July. Mickelson and Els, a double winner of the British Open warm-up event, return after finishing second and third respectively last year behind Frenchman Gregory Havret.
Ernie Els admits his swing is no better than average as he tries to fine-tune his game with new coach Butch Harmon. Els, who plays in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth this week, turned to Harmon after opting to replace previous coach David Leadbetter, but the South African is still not completely happy with his revamped swing.
Germany’s Bernhard Langer rolled back the years with a vintage display while American Kenny Perry eked out a one-shot lead in the Players Championship second round on Friday. Langer sank a monster birdie putt from 60 feet on the treacherous 17th green en route to a sparkling five-under-par 67.
Spaniard Sergio Garcia, steadily regaining confidence in his putting, took advantage of an early tee-off time to seize a two-stroke lead in the Players Championship first round on Thursday. Seeking his first PGA Tour title in almost three years, Garcia fired a sparkling six-under-par 66 at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass.
South Africa’s Trevor Immelman puts his credentials as US Masters champion to their first test in the Byron Nelson Championship from Thursday. Immelman will be looking to wrest the title from Texan Scott Verplank, who had an emotional victory at his hometown event last year shortly after his mentor, Nelson, had passed away.
Two-time US Open winner Retief Goosen has returned to Asia quietly confident he is finally getting his groove back after a frustrating 18 months trying to reshape his swing. The laid-back South African famously won his two Majors without a coach and then suffered a drop in form last year after deciding to hire a mentor in an effort to improve his backswing.
While obviously disappointed with his own performance in this year’s Masters golf tournament at Augusta, Ernie Els says it was a great week for Trevor Immelman and for South African golf. Congratulating Immelman on his first Major victory, Els said he has known the new champion since he was a boy and watched him develop as a player.
Sporting heroes inspire others to become sporting heroes, as new Masters champion Trevor Immelman testified following his two-stroke win over Tiger Woods on Sunday. It was a minor miracle that he was even playing in the Masters, having undergone a major operation just 15 weeks ago.
Trevor Immelman emerged as the halfway leader at the Masters on Friday as Tiger Woods used an incredible finish to keep alive his bid for a fifth Augusta crown. Immelman, who has had an arduous recovery from surgery, birdied 17 and 18 en route to his second straight 68 and an eight-under total of 136.
One of the many joys attached to attending the Masters is watching the local television coverage. The biggest joy of all is the now established tradition that, starting on Monday at 6.30am, some poor sod masquerading as a traffic reporter has to set up a pitch at the side of the four-lane highway that runs menacingly in front of the Augusta National Golf Club.
Britain’s Justin Rose reeled off six birdies in eight holes to share the first-round lead at the US Masters while Tiger Woods laboured to stay in touch on Thursday. Rose shrugged off two early bogeys to fire a four-under-par 68 in bright sunshine. He launched his sizzling run at the par-three sixth before ending the day level with South African Trevor Immelman.
Tiger Woods opens his quest for an unprecedented Grand Slam of golf at Augusta National on Thursday, carrying the lowest odds ever for a player at the outset of a Major. The world number one is quoted at evens or just above evens to win a fifth Green Jacket, with the next best being two-time winner Phil Mickelson.
Ernie Els is hoping a radical change of coaches can propel him to Masters glory after 14 years of heartbreak. The 37-year-old South African has won two US Opens and one British Open, but has yet to strike gold at Augusta National, despite six top-10 finishes and twice being runner-up.
Ernie Els withdrew from the Houston Open on Sunday because of a virus, giving him an unexpected two weeks off before going to the US Masters. ”I am very disappointed to have been forced to make this decision because I was really looking forward to playing this week,” Els said in a statement.
Ernie Els spent last week in West Palm Beach, resting and working on his game as he tries to peak for the Masters. It might not be long before he returns for good. Golf’s most global player said on Thursday that he was planning to move his home base from London to south Florida, where the weather is more suitable for golf in the winter.
World number three Ernie Els has pulled out of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando because of fatigue, PGA Tour officials said on Monday. According to his management company, the South African wanted a break to help prepare for next month’s US Masters, the first Major of the year.
World number three Ernie Els is in buoyant mood for this week’s Tampa Bay Championship at Palm Harbour after winning his first title on United States soil in nearly four years. The smooth-swinging South African shrugged off gusting winds in Sunday’s final round of the Honda Classic to seal his 16th PGA Tour victory by one shot.
They call him ”The Big Easy” but Ernie Els had been feeling far from laid back until Sunday’s Honda Classic triumph put the smile back on his face. The South African, without a victory in the United States for nearly four years, came from behind to win the tournament with a three-under-par round final round of 67.
No image available
/ 21 February 2008
Ernie Els was the biggest name to fall by the wayside as twice winner Tiger Woods conjured a miraculous escape at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Wednesday. Woods came from three down with five holes to play for a one-up victory over fellow American JB Holmes but fourth seed Els was hammered 6&5 by Jonathan Byrd.
No image available
/ 11 February 2008
Two tournaments and two top-10 finishes to start the season have buoyed Ernie Els as he switches his focus to the United States in preparation for the Masters at Augusta in April. The world number four recovered from a horror nine at the 18th in his first round at the inaugural Indian Masters to end tied sixth.
No image available
/ 10 February 2008
SSP Chowrasia claimed the biggest prize of his career by winning the Indian Masters on Sunday, holding off Ireland’s Damien McGrane for a two-stroke victory. Nicknamed ”Chipputtsia” due to his superb short game, Chowrasia was running hot in perfect conditions at the Delhi Golf Club, sinking four birdies in his opening seven holes.
No image available
/ 10 February 2008
World golfing number four Ernie Els has been there and done that, and a "lucky" R5 coin has accompanied him throughout his golfing exploits on the world stage. The big South African revealed a superstitious side to his game during a clinic at the driving range on the sidelines of the Indian Masters.
No image available
/ 9 February 2008
Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin grabbed a one-shot lead at a blustery Indian Masters on Saturday, with Ernie Els lurking dangerously four behind after posting the best score of the day. Jacquelin, who last tasted a European Tour victory at the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai last April, mixed an eagle and a birdie with three bogeys for an even par 72 on a day that saw the lead see-saw.
No image available
/ 8 February 2008
Northern Ireland’s Damien McGrane stroked a majestic 69 to take a two-shot lead at the Indian Masters on Friday as Ernie Els made amends for his disastrous opening round to scrape through the cut. Another Irishman, Graeme McDowell, who finished fifth behind Tiger Woods in Dubai on Sunday, shares second place with South Africa’s Hendrik Buhrmann.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
Ernie Els shot a horror quadruple bogey to lag 10 behind leader Jyoti Randhawa at the inaugural Indian Masters on Thursday, with the local star eagling the last for a two-shot lead. Irishman Damien McGrane played two rounds with Tiger Woods at the Dubai Desert Classic last week and the world number one’s magic clearly rubbed off as he fired a 67 to lie second.
No image available
/ 6 February 2008
The Asian Tour’s elite have Ernie Els in their sights at the Indian Masters this week, looking to pile more misery on the South African after his defeat to Tiger Woods in Dubai. The world number four leads the cast at the ,5-million tournament that marks the European Tour’s debut in a country where the sport is booming.
No image available
/ 5 February 2008
Ernie Els says his agonising loss to Tiger Woods in Dubai on Sunday is history and he is fully focused on etching his name on the inaugural Indian Masters trophy this week. The world number four started the final day at the Dubai Desert Classic four ahead of Woods but his approach to the green on the 18th went in the water and it cost him the tournament.
No image available
/ 3 February 2008
Tiger Woods watched his 25-foot putt race down the slope and bend toward the cup, then he skipped backward and punched the desert air in celebration when it disappeared into the cup for a final birdie. So ended his spectacular charge on Sunday to win the Dubai Desert Classic over Ernie Els, a familiar victim.
No image available
/ 3 February 2008
Tiger Woods struggled with everything on the course on Saturday, missing putts, driving wayward balls into the desert terrain and yelling at a photographer for taking a shot while he was swinging. Ernie Els had a very different day, rising from fifth to first place at the Dubai Desert Classic.