Rejuvenated Els ready for Korean Challenge

Ernie Els

After a week off, Ernie Els is refreshed and raring to go at the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea. The world No.7 chose to spend a few days relaxing at the family home in West Palm Beach, Florida, after playing in the Masters two weeks ago and says he can feel the benefit.

"I didn't do anything," he revealed. "I went home Sunday night after the Masters and I was home all week. The weather was great, I was in the pool with the kids, did the school run in the morning and afternoon.

"I didn't touch a club until I came here on Monday. I did a company day Monday, I practised yesterday and played today [Wednesday]. So I feel ready to go now."

The South African superstar returned to his best form in March with wins at the WGC-CA Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational to take his career total of PGA Tour victories to 18.

"Obviously, I've had a pretty good start to the season. I've played mostly in the US, I haven't travelled too much this year, and I think it's helped my game," he reflected.

"The win in Miami [the WGC-CA Championship] was big for me, I got a lot of confidence back, and then Bay Hill [the Arnold Palmer Invitational] was a run-on from that.

"Maybe I should have taken the week off before the Masters as I was a bit jaded there, but I still had a top 20.

"My reason for playing so much was to try and get form in March, and it came rapidly! And then I couldn't pull out of tournaments, that would have been unfair. So yes, the season's been going well this year."

Els - with three Major victories in his career - is one of the leading contenders in the Ballantine's Championship, which tees off on Thursday (22 April) at Pinx Golf Club on the Korean holiday island of Jeju.

Other stars in the field include Asia's first Major champion, YE Yang, three-time PGA Tour winner Anthony Kim and Henrik Stenson, who has six European Tour titles to his name.

Els finished joint fourth at last year's Ballantine's Championship, two shots behind eventual playoff winner Thongchai Jaidee, in a tournament played in unusually cold and windy weather.

"I had a good tournament last year," he said. "So many people could have won it. My putt on 18 just missed and I missed one on 17 as well.

"But I had a very nice week, I enjoyed it, except for maybe the weather! It was very tough last year, hopefully this year it's a little better.

"It's a golf course where, if the weather conditions are nice, you can really make a lot of birdies. It lends itself to attacking golf. But if the weather isn't good, like last year, then it's just a question of trying to play safe."

Els said playing in different weather conditions was one of the attractions of the European Tour and a major difference compared to the PGA Tour.

"The European Tour now is really a world tour," he said. "You play in a lot of different conditions, I think that's the biggest difference.

"In the US in March, you play the Florida Swing, so it's very similar, the greens and stuff, so you can get into a flow a little bit more.

"But the European Tour is the best training ground in the world, because you play different conditions against different players and different cultures. You learn a lot more about your game on the European Tour."

The strong field at the Ballantine's Championship also includes the tournament's first two winners - Graeme McDowell, who triumphed in 2008, and Thongchai.

The €2.2 million showpiece is once again co-sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and Korea PGA.