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Top coach bets on Els to steal the show in US Open
Illinois, June 12: Twice champion Ernie Els has regained confidence in his short game and is ready to make a major impact at this week`s U.S. Open, according to top coach David Leadbetter.
Illinois, June 12: Twice champion Ernie Els has regained confidence in his short game and is ready to make a major impact at this week's U.S. Open, according to top coach David Leadbetter.
World number two Els, who began the year with four victories in his first five events, felt he let himself down in his last four starts and spent last week at his Florida base working on his putting and chipping with Leadbetter.
"He's really in good shape right now and I think he's ready to play well," swing guru Leadbetter told reporters on Wednesday. "He feels good about the golf course, he likes the golf course and I expect to see him do really well.
"Pretty much his long game is exactly where he wanted it, although we've kind of cut little things. But, for the most part, we worked very hard on his short game, his chipping and putting.
"Funnily enough, if a player works hard on another area, the short game can tend to suffer."
British Open champion Els, who has won two titles on both the PGA and European Tours this season, is widely regarded as the player most likely to challenge defending champion Tiger Woods at Olympia Fields this week.
The 33-year-old enjoys a distinguished record in the U.S. Open with five top-10 finishes in 10 starts, including victories in 1994, after a playoff with Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomerie at Oakmont, and again in 1997 at Congressional.
Although Els and Woods both rank among the longest hitters in the modern game, Leadbetter believes this week's title will be decided on the heavily contoured greens at Olympia Fields Country's Club's par-70 North Course.
"I think it's really going to be won and lost on the greens on this course, depending on how much rain they have over the next few days," he said. "These greens are very slopey and, with the breezes that have been blowing, they are firming up. I don't think tee to green is going to be a problem this week."
Leadbetter, who has also been working this week with the likes of Bernhard Langer, David Duval, Charles Howell III and Justin Rose, believes an accurate medium-length driver of the ball could shine at Olympia Fields.
"It's not necessarily a long hitter's golf course and on the fairway, the further you hit it, the tighter it gets with bunkering and the fairways narrowing," he said. "There will be a lot of players you can look at this week who can really do well.
"A player like Stewart Cink, a very steady type of player, or Fred Funk. It's not such a long golf course.
"Plus the rough is actually fairly benign this year and you can certainly advance the ball, so the players have to get to the right portion of the green.
"I think the scoring could be reasonably low come Sunday. It's amazing how good the players are these days and I think we could have a low-scoring week, depending on how fast the greens get," Leadbetter added.
Bureau Report
World number two Els, who began the year with four victories in his first five events, felt he let himself down in his last four starts and spent last week at his Florida base working on his putting and chipping with Leadbetter.
"He's really in good shape right now and I think he's ready to play well," swing guru Leadbetter told reporters on Wednesday. "He feels good about the golf course, he likes the golf course and I expect to see him do really well.
"Pretty much his long game is exactly where he wanted it, although we've kind of cut little things. But, for the most part, we worked very hard on his short game, his chipping and putting.
"Funnily enough, if a player works hard on another area, the short game can tend to suffer."
British Open champion Els, who has won two titles on both the PGA and European Tours this season, is widely regarded as the player most likely to challenge defending champion Tiger Woods at Olympia Fields this week.
The 33-year-old enjoys a distinguished record in the U.S. Open with five top-10 finishes in 10 starts, including victories in 1994, after a playoff with Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomerie at Oakmont, and again in 1997 at Congressional.
Although Els and Woods both rank among the longest hitters in the modern game, Leadbetter believes this week's title will be decided on the heavily contoured greens at Olympia Fields Country's Club's par-70 North Course.
"I think it's really going to be won and lost on the greens on this course, depending on how much rain they have over the next few days," he said. "These greens are very slopey and, with the breezes that have been blowing, they are firming up. I don't think tee to green is going to be a problem this week."
Leadbetter, who has also been working this week with the likes of Bernhard Langer, David Duval, Charles Howell III and Justin Rose, believes an accurate medium-length driver of the ball could shine at Olympia Fields.
"It's not necessarily a long hitter's golf course and on the fairway, the further you hit it, the tighter it gets with bunkering and the fairways narrowing," he said. "There will be a lot of players you can look at this week who can really do well.
"A player like Stewart Cink, a very steady type of player, or Fred Funk. It's not such a long golf course.
"Plus the rough is actually fairly benign this year and you can certainly advance the ball, so the players have to get to the right portion of the green.
"I think the scoring could be reasonably low come Sunday. It's amazing how good the players are these days and I think we could have a low-scoring week, depending on how fast the greens get," Leadbetter added.
Bureau Report