HEIDELBERG, Germany, 20 May 2004 — Ernie Els continues his quest to dislodge Tiger Woods as World No. 1 in Europe this week taking part in the $3.6 million Deutsche Bank-SAP Open.
Els finished second behind Phil Mickelson in last month’s Masters and since then has played in only two events — tieing for third at the Heritage in the United States before finishing seventh at the Byron Nelson Classic on Sunday.
The big South African said that the three-week break he took after the profound disappointment he experienced at the Masters where Mickelson pipped him at the post had taken its toll. But closing round of 66 and 67 in Texas at the weekend showed that he was getting right back on track as he builds up for next month’s US Open.
“You never quite know how sharp your game is going to be, so on balance I was fairly satisfied with my performance at the Byron Nelson, especially at the weekend,” he said on his official website.
“It’ll be great to get to Sunday afternoon right in the thick of the action. I’d expect my game to at least be a bit sharper all round, compared to last week.”
Els has only played in the German tournament twice in the last five years, missing out on last year when it was played near Hamburg because of a wrist injury.
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington won that event in a thrilling playoff against Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn with Woods finishing well down the field.
Woods has been a regular at the Deutsche Bank, winning three times in the last five years, each time at the St. Leon-Rot course near here, but gives it a miss this year due to personal reasons.
