GOLF US TOUR:ERNIE ELS will launch his 2011 season at this week's Tournament of Champions with a new caddie in a bid to spark a fresh approach to his game.
The 41-year-old triple major winner has recruited Zimbabwe-born Mike Kerr, who has previously worked for Spaniard Manuel Angel Jimenez, Nick Dougherty and, most recently, Trevor Immelman of South Africa.
“We made the decision at the end of last year,” said Els after playing nine holes in practice at the Kapalua Resort. “Mike’s a nice quiet guy and I like to have a guy like that.
“I just wanted to make a change and have a guy who is a little different from what I have had before. He’s a low-key, relaxed kid. And he’s a good caddie.”
Els, a former world number one who has claimed more than 60 tournament victories worldwide, has spent most of his professional career with good friend Ricci Roberts on his bag.
Last year, he employed two caddies with Roberts and former NHL player Dan Quinn splitting the duties.
“I spoke to Ricci and also with Dan,” Els said. “Dan was just a one-year thing and he did a great job for me and we’re still friends.
“Me and Ricci, we are like brothers. He’s going to get involved with my business a little bit so he’s fine.”
Being on the Hawaiian island of Maui for the PGA Tour’s season-opening Tournament of Champions is a doubly welcome bonus for every player in the limited field, says twice champion Geoff Ogilvy.
The elite €4.25 million event brings together winners from the previous season, giving each of them the chance to get a jump-start on their rivals before next week’s Sony Open, the first full-field tournament of the year.
“It’s a nice little reward for winning a tournament the year before and it also gives you a little bit of a head start on everyone else,” said Ogilvy. “We stay in a nice hotel and it’s a great place Hawaii. Everything is good about this tournament. It’s one of the nicest venues all year, if not the nicest.”
The tournament has been especially good to Ogilvy over the last two years and this week he will be bidding to emulate compatriot Stuart Appleby and American Gene Littler with a third successive victory.
Appleby triumphed on Kapalua’s hilly Plantation Course from 2004 to 2006 while Littler won the event from 1955 to 1957 when it was staged at Desert Inn Country Club in Nevada.
“Winning the last two years, it’s a place you always want to come back to,” said Ogilvy, who retained the title by one shot 12 months ago with a 22-under total of 270.
“It’s just nice to be back here defending. It was the first time I ever (successfully) defended anything so that was kind of fun last year. To go three in a row would be a bonus.”
The 7,411-yard Plantation Course boasts the widest fairways on Tour and is ideally suited to long hitters who can cope well with the fickle island winds.
“It’s always an advantage to hit it long and there are a lot of holes here where it’s probably a super advantage,” said Ogilvy, a seven-times winner on the PGA Tour.
“Guys who have won are all pretty long. But a good wind player and a good putter is going to do the best out here.”
For American world number seven Steve Stricker, previous experience at Kapalua is also a prized commodity.
“You’ve got big undulations, big downhill shots, some uphill shots and a lot of wind. The more times you play around here, the better you learn going around here each time,” said Stricker, who was beaten by Swede Daniel Chopra in a play-off for the 2008 title.
The 34-strong field at Kapalua includes US Open champion Graeme McDowell and 13 first-time winners on the 2010 PGA Tour. Two notable absentees, however, are world number two Tiger Woods and fourth-ranked Phil Mickelson. Woods failed to win a single tournament last year while Mickelson has skipped Kapalua for the last 10 years.
TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Course: Plantation Course, Kapalua Resort, Maui, Hawaii
Length: 7,411 yards.
Par:73.
Prizemoney:€4.25 million (€850,000 for the winner)
Layout:Widest fairways on tour, undulating course, suits long hitters
Field:34.
Defending champion:Geoff Ogilvy
On TV: Sky Sports 3
Weather forecast:Sunny, chance of showers in the morning
