No let up for Els . . .

Golf Correspondent

Thursday 4 October 2012

There's no rest for the wicked.

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Nick Rodger

There's no rest for the winners either. The Open Championship seems like a long time ago for Ernie Els.

The Big Easy has not been taking it so easy since he plundered the Claret Jug in memorable circumstances at Royal Lytham in July and has been chiselling away on the PGA Tour in the US. "I would love a break," admitted the 42-year-old South African, ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. "It seems like I've been busy ever since the Open. This is my job, but sometimes you just need a little bit of time off. I haven't had any time to reflect [on the Open win] and I've had to do it on the road."

At least he managed a few days off in the build-up to this lucrative Pro-Am. The Ryder Cup was the only golfing show in town last weekend and Els took it all in front of the television. The batteries are not quite fully re-charged but Els believes he could be re-energised on Scottish soil."I watched a lot of the Ryder Cup and hopefully I'll get some energy out of that," added Els. "I haven't really played any great golf since the Open. Maybe I switched off a little bit. I haven't really had the energy to go for it but it's nice to come back to links golf and come back to Scotland and it might just click here. This could be a week where things turn round again." Despite his exertions, there is no doubt that the Open win has given Els' career as a whole renewed vigour. "It's changed a lot of things," he said Els, who will defend the Claret Jug at Muirfield next summer. "I'm 43 in a couple of weeks, so I'm not getting any younger. I've got to think of my future, and this obviously helps a lot. It gives me new hope and new confidence that for the next five years, I'm playing in every major."Els forms part of a glittering cast in this corner of Scotland, which also includes major-winning countrymen, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, as well as Dustin Johnson, one of the few US Ryder Cup players to win a singles tie. Martin Laird has travelled from the US to bolster a 13-strong Scottish posse which is led by Paul Lawrie. George Murray, tied third last year, Alastair Forysth, Peter Whiteford, Craig Lee and Gary Orr all need a big result on home soil to boost their hopes of safeguarding their tour cards.

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No let up for Els . . .

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