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MIAMI - Ernie Els is eager to bounce back to form at this week's Honda Classic golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens after suffering a nightmare first-round exit at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship six days ago.
The South African world number four was crushed 6 and 5 by Jonathan Byrd at Dove Mountain's Gallery Golf Club, the fifth time he has lost in the event's opening round in eight appearances.
"My record's not been great in that tournament, but I don't regret making the trip," Els, 38, said.
"It is a big event and I like the golf course. I've been striking the ball quite nicely so I felt like I could have had a bit of a run this year.
"Obviously, it didn't work out that way. I had a bit of a nightmare. Basically, it was a combination of me playing poorly and Jonathan playing well. It was a disappointing day."
Els, who contributed to his premature exit at Dove Mountain by making four bogeys in the first nine holes, is looking forward to his first appearance at the Honda Classic since 1999.
"I like the course here," the three-times major champion said. "It's a Tom Fazio design, updated by Jack Nicklaus in 1990, and it has lots of room off the tee and big greens.
"I think it's a golf course that I can do well on. I feel like I'm striking it quite nicely and I just want to play some solid golf now."
The smooth-swinging South African, one of the game's leading players for more than a decade, is hungry to return to the winner's circle on American soil for the first time in four years.
"Some people can easily get on your case a little bit when things aren't going so well," said Els, whose last victory in the US was the 2004 Memorial tournament.
"But I don't ever take any notice of that. I've just got to keep fighting and keep working hard on my game.
"I'm now settled in for a long stretch of tournaments on the PGA Tour. I'll be playing my way from here all the way into the (April 10-13) Masters. I really want to get back into the mix over here in the States."
Els heads a strong field at the PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens where six of the world's top 20 will be playing.
Also competing are seventh-ranked Briton Justin Rose, Spaniard Sergio Garcia (13th), US Open champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina (14th), Britain's Luke Donald (16th) and 19th-ranked American Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner.
American Mark Wilson defends the title he won 12 months ago in a four-way playoff.
- REUTERS
