Els aiming to make it three in a row in Singapore
Els aiming to make it three in a row in Singapore
Reuters Singapore
South African Ernie Els feels he is in the form to make it three titles in succession for the first time in his career when he tees off for the US$900,000 Singapore Masters on Thursday.
Els won his previous two tournaments, the Hawaii Open and the Mercedes Championship, and after a practice round said he felt he was in just the right physical and mental shape to continue his best start to a year ever.
"Last year I was so worried about winning a title after having won nothing in 2001 that I put myself under too much pressure," Els said on Wednesday.
"But things have settled down for me a bit now. I have learnt to take one week at a time and am really looking forward to the challenge here."
Els, the British Open champion was also impressed with the demanding course.
"The course is in great shape. There is plenty of challenge out there. I mean there could be plenty of big numbers if you make a mistake," he said.
"The 17th could be a killer and even the 18th hole is not so easy with water along one side. The water hazards come into play at almost every other hole.
"The roughs are also high. If one is not careful, there could a lot of tough second shots out there."
Els has been drawn to tee off with Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee and defending champion Arjun Atwal of India for the first two rounds.
Atwal, whose victory last year meant he became the first Indian player to win a European Tour event, was looking forward to the experience of playing against the world number two.
"Whether I win or not, it will be a great experience for me to just play two rounds with a top class player like Els," he said.
"I hope I can do it again but I know I will have to play really well to beat a player like Els."
But, despite playing better than anyone else in the game at the moment, the smooth-swinging South African is well aware that winning form can be elusive.
"I'm obviously really enjoying my golf at the moment and feeling confident but, come Thursday morning, you start at level par again -- just like everyone else in the field," he said on his official website.
"You can't get carried away with what you've done the week before. You have to stay focused, try to give each shot 100 percent, and see how it goes.
"You have to work really hard to get yourself in the right frame of mind, and the best way to do that is completely forget about the previous tournament."
Els, 33, flew into Singapore on Tuesday morning after edging out Australia's Aaron Baddeley in a playoff for the Hawaii Open in Honolulu on Sunday.
"I honestly could not be more thrilled with my start to the year," said the big South African. "To win the first two tournaments of the season is beyond my expectations.
"(Caddie) Ricci (Roberts) and I could not have predicted how low we were going to shoot -- 47 under par for the last eight rounds. It's good for my stroke average, which I think is about 65 at the moment."
Els, who clinched the Mercedes Championships with a record- breaking total of 31-under-par 261, will be heavily fancied to win his third title of the year at Laguna National Golf and Country Club.
The tournament is jointly sanctioned by the European and Asian PGA Tours.