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Confident Els aiming to go from strength to strength

GOLF US TOUR WORLD NUMBER three Ernie Els is in buoyant mood for this week's Tampa Bay Championship at Palm Harbour after winning…

Thu Mar 06 2008 - 00:00

GOLF US TOURWORLD NUMBER three Ernie Els is in buoyant mood for this week's Tampa Bay Championship at Palm Harbour after winning his first title on US soil in nearly four years.

The smooth-swinging South African shrugged off gusting winds in last Sunday's final round of the Honda Classic to seal his 16th PGA Tour victory by a shot.

Els (38) is eager to maintain his resurgent form when he tees off in today's opening round on the challenging Copperhead Course at the Westin Innisbrook Resort.

"A win is what I needed in order to really kick-start my year so this couldn't have come at a better time," the three-times major champion said on his official website.

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"Being up there last week, in the mix, feeling the heat and knowing that I can pull off the shots under pressure, that is what it's all about. It's amazing what a win does for your confidence.

"Even before last week I was telling people how I was enjoying practising and spending a lot of time on my swing and the technical side of my game," added Els, whose previous victory on American soil came at the 2004 Memorial tournament.

"My swing feels good, I'm driving the ball well and I'm hitting my irons nicely. Plus I'm holing some putts now.

"I guess you could say this recent win gives me even more momentum and enthusiasm for what I'm doing. There's still an awful lot that I want to achieve in this game and I really want to push on from here."

Also competing this week is defending champion Mark Calcavecchia, who pushed Els hard at the Honda Classic before running up a double bogey on the 15th hole in Sunday's final round.

This week, however, Calcavecchia returns to a venue where he triumphed by a stroke 12 months ago to end a PGA Tour title drought of two years. "It's a hard golf course and those are hard holes out there, I made just enough putts," the 47-year-old said, referring to his putting form at Copperhead last year.

Apart from Els, four other members of the world's top 20 are competing this week - fourth-ranked American Steve Stricker, Justin Rose (seventh), Stewart Cink (16th) and Geoff Ogilvy (17th).