Els hopes to bag 4th title in S'pore
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Singapore
Despite his triumphs at two season-opening back-to-back tournaments, Ernie Els of South Africa said it would not be easy for him to reap another victory at the US$900,000 Caltex Singapore Masters at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club beginning Thursday.
"There are a lot of players out there so it will not by any means be an easy game," Els, who is scheduled to play in an exhibition game in Bali, Indonesia, the following week, told reporters at the clubhouse.
"I just hope to do my best," he said.
The world's No. 2 won the Sony Open in Hawaii last weekend in a dramatic game in which he was extended to a play-off with Australian Aaron Baddeley.
Els' perfect start for this season began when he won the Mercedes Championship, also in Hawaii. The Sony Open victory the following week gave him two wins in a row at the start of the season.
The last golfer to win the two season opener was Steve Jones in 1989.
Given his triumph at the Nedbank Challenge, which was last season's closing event in Sun City, South Africa, Els will be gunning for four tournament wins in a row at the Caltex Singapore Masters.
"It is a perfect and wonderful start and I want it to continue for the rest of the year," he said.
"But I will take it one week at a time. I have to keep my game and discipline."
The Andy Dye-designed Laguna is located on a 126-hectare plot of land, and the 7,145-yard Masters Course, where the game will be held, is a considerably watery arena with 12 out of the 18 holes having water obstruction.
"The course is very tricky. We have to be very careful. The rough surface, for example, is high so it would be difficult to have a clean shot."
Els, however, was confident of his progress in the tournament, saying that he has been improving his game lately.
"I used to play well for two or three weeks but now I can maintain my game for a longer period of time. I have also been working with my swings," he added.
In the Singapore Masters, Els will be joined by defending champion Arjun Atwal of India and Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand for the first and second round on Thursday and Friday.
Host Singapore has six of its professional golfers at the tournament, with Mardan Mamat and Lam Chih Bing having the better chance to reach good results.
In Bali, Els is one of four top international professional golfers invited to the US$100,000 Bali Invitational charity golf tournament next month.
Robby Henchman, from the event organizer IMG, said that Robert Allenby, world No. 15, and No. 64 Nick Faldo would feature but he had yet to confirm the fourth player.
The four will compete in a strokeplay golf exhibition on the 18-hole Nirwana Bali Golf Club on Feb. 9.
The event will be staged as part of the national campaign to help Bali recover from the ill-effects wrought by the Oct. 12 bombing tragedy, which took the lives of more than 190 people.
The prize money will be distributed to the four competitors with the winner earning US$50,000, runner-up US$25,000, third- place US$15,000 and fourth-place US$10,000.
However, the checks are to be donated to four charities dedicated to the recovery of Bali.
The organizers have also arranged a golf clinic and a Pro-Am tournament on Feb. 8, which is expected to involve between 60 and 70 local amateurs.