Ernie Els and Adam Scott cross clubs again in Asia, six months after their meeting in Singapore.
Dream sequel | Ernie Els and Adam Scott cross clubs again in Asia, six months after their meeting in Singapore.
PHUKET: Ernie Els and Adam Scott do battle in Asia again this week with the prospect of more fireworks from two of the world’s top golfers at the lucrative Johnnie Walker Classic.
The last time Els and Scott met in the region they went head-to-head at the Singapore Open in September, with the Australian world number four digging deep to beat the big South African in a three-hole playoff.
Since then Els, the world number five, has finally regained full fitness following the knee ligament damage he incurred in a jet-ski accident 18 months ago, and another pulsating contest is in store.
After Singapore and a winless streak spanning 29 tournaments, Els lifted his game to win the South African Open and has started 2007 in spectacular form. He finished third at the Qatar Masters, second at the Dubai Desert Classic and third at the Nissan Open before a first round exit at the Accenture Match Play Championship last week.
“Golf-wise, I’m not reading much into last week’s first round loss in Tucson. To be honest with you, that was just one of those days,” said Els, one of golf’s most prolific travellers, who thrives in the tropical heat. Scott had a good start to the year, finishing second at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in January before missing the cut at the Nissan Open and is looking to the Johnnie Walker to get his season going again.
“I’ve got a pretty good record in tournament golf in Asia — I think it’s three wins from four starts — so this may well be the week that kicks off my 2007 season,” he said. Standing in their way are a host of top-ranked players, including world number six Retief Goosen, who curled in a spectacular eagle on the last hole to win the Qatar Masters last month.
Els has won the tournament — tri-sanctioned by the European, Asian and Australasian Tours — twice before, in 1997 and 2003, while Scott triumphed in 2005. Goosen won it in 2002. The Blue Canyon previously hosted the tournament in 1994, when Greg Norman lifted the trophy, and in 1998, when Tiger Woods beat Els. A who’s who of Asia’s top talent, led by India’s Jeev Milkha Singh and Japan’s Shingo Katayama, will be knocking on the door for the 2.44 million dollars in prizemoney.
Goosen bids to emulate Woods, Els
World number eight Retief Goosen aims to emulate Tiger Woods and Ernie Els this week by becoming a multiple winner of the Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand. “I have good memories of the course,” the 2002 champion said. The Johnnie Walker Classic, first played in 1992, returns to the Blue Canyon Country Club after a nine-year absence.
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