British Open: The first time Ernie Els played in a British Open, at Troon in 1989, he was a teenager with a big reputation that cut no ice with the serious, older professionals.

He was brought down to earth, in no uncertain manner; and the 76 strokes he took in the second round that year, on the way to missing the cut, was the highest round he'd taken in the championship until last Thursday, when he signed for a 78.

Not long after he'd emerged from the recorder's cabin on Thursday evening, Els had the look of a man who didn't quite know what to make of it all. It seemed the claret jug he had held for the previous 12 months was not only slipping from his grasp, but also his odds of surviving the cut were remote. When he got back to his hotel, Els's daughter Samantha, aged four, simply gave her father a pat on the back . . . and, suddenly, his entire perspective changed. "We had a little team talk, and I felt so much better," he said.

In the first round, Els, and his playing partners, David Toms and Shigeki Maruyama, had gone through the entire round without a single birdie between them. Yesterday, though, Els rolled in an 18-footer on his second hole - and that was to spark a renaissance that saw him fire a second-round 68, moving him to four-over-par 146, and seriously back into contention.

Since that one and only missed cut in a British Open all those years ago at Troon, Els has been one of the most consistent links players. Before finally winning at Muirfield a year ago, the South African - known as "The Big Easy" for his lazy swing, not his lack of ambition - had secured six top-10 finishes in the championship. But, if the truth be told, yesterday's wonderfully crafted fightback, all of 10 shots better than the previous day, represented one of his best day's work on a golf course.

What happened on the par-five seventh hole showed how much patience he possessed, especially when compared to the frustration he showed in the first round. There, on a hole of 532 yards, he launched such a huge drive that he only had a wedge left for his second shot. But he failed to find the green, then chipped and two-putted for par.

"That tested my patience, and it can be pretty easy to lose it after something like that, but I stayed the course," said Els.

What Els did was to play his way back into contention, rather than having an unscheduled weekend off.

"Yeah, at least I've got a chance now, haven't I?" he said. "I've got the chance over the weekend to go out and I have to play well. The important thing is to keep the momentum going, to keep grinding away and hope for the best. I think we definitely got the wrong side of the draw, but so be it. I'm here, I'm playing nicely, and I just want to keep it going now."

Els's second round was quite a contrast to his first as a British Open champion. It contained four birdies and just a single dropped shot, on the short 11th, where he left his tee shot short, had a poor chip, and two-putted from 35 feet. Generally, his putting was much improved - "I wasn't swaying around like a boxer," remarked Els, who had 31 putts compared to 34 the previous day.

All in all, Els's second round showed the class of the man. He dug in deep, refused to capitulate, and rallied. Not only did he survive the cut, he moved to the fringes of contention. He's in the mix again.