Ernie takes a swing at the bar

2007-02-27 10:28

Phuket - Ernie Els has wasted no time putting his first round failure at the Accenture Match Play Championship last week behind him, jetting into tropical Phuket to prop up a bar for charity.

The Big Easy, as he is known, is a not a player who looks backwards, and said he had "good vibes" about being in Thailand.

The world number five, a regular visitor to Asia, who has started his season in electric form, unexpectedly slumped out of the matchplay tournament in Tucson, Arizona, to Bradley Dredge, but the South African is unconcerned.

"There wasn't much point in me hanging around in Tucson, so I made a pretty swift exit out of there and flew to Hawaii for a site visit at Hoakalei," he said, referring to a course he is designing there.

After a brief stop he was back on the plane and arrived in Thailand on Saturday, giving himself plenty for time to prepare for the Johnnie Walker Classic, which starts here on Thursday.

Fun atmosphere

Els thrives in tropical conditions and loves the sideshow that comes with the Johnnie Walker tournament, which included him hitting shots onto a floating green on Tuesday.

"It's good to return to the Blue Canyon Country Club. It really is a beautiful resort," he said on his website.

"There's always a fun atmosphere about this week, too. On Thursday evening a few of us will be doing our best barmen impressions, serving Johnnie Walker drinks to VIP guests to help support Thailand's tsunami fund.

"One other thing I really enjoy about coming here is the food. It's always fantastic."

Once the sponsor obligations are out of the way, Els will be focusing on winning the tournament for the third time, with world number four Adam Scott and world number six Retief Goosen his main threats.

"Golf-wise, I'm not reading much into last week's first round loss in Tucson," he said. "To be honest with you, that was just one of those days. And the fact is, I've had a pretty solid start to the season and I want to keep building on that. Overall I feel like my game is in good shape. "

- SAPA