Doral Open: The countdown to next month's Masters at Augusta starts in earnest today as the US Tour kicks off its "Florida Swing" with nine of the world's top 10 competing in the Ford Championship at Doral.
There will be no complaints if the event produces a re-run of last year. Phil Mickelson led after two and three rounds, but then came off second best in a last day head-to-head with Tiger Woods.
With closing rounds of 63 and 66 Woods, five behind at halfway, triumphed by one - and with it regained the world number-one spot from third-placed Vijay Singh.
Ernie Els returns to the Doral resort this week for the first time since he held off Tiger Woods to win in 2002 by two shots.
The South African, ready for his third successive PGA Tour start of the year, is delighted to be back at one of his favourite venues.
"I'm really looking forward to it," the world number four said yesterday.
"In the past few years this event has always clashed with the Desert Swing on the European Tour but, with the Dubai Desert Classic and Qatar Masters moving to an earlier slot in the diary, it means I can play here.
"It's nice to be going back to a golf course where I've won before and played well. I've got a lot of good memories from this place. I'm hoping the Blue Monster, as its known, will inspire me and kind of get my game moving into top gear."
Three-times major winner Els, sidelined for four months at the end of last year after twisting his knee on a family sailing holiday in the Mediterranean, has struggled for form in his first two US appearances of the season.
He tied for 23rd at the Nissan Open in Los Angeles two weeks ago before being eliminated by Germany's Bernhard Langer three days later at the WGC-Accenture Matchplay Championship, the biggest upset of the opening round.
"I knew I'd have to be on my game to come through, but unfortunately my long game let me down and he basically didn't make many mistakes," Els explained. "No complaints. Bernhard deserved to win this match.
"Is there a bright side to losing in the first round at La Costa? Probably not, but at least I got a chance to spend some time working on my game before the Ford Championship at Doral."
Els loves the balance of Doral's par-72 Blue Course. "I just love the straightforward playability of this course," he said. "There are holes where you need to fade it, others that require a draw.
"You've got long par fours, short par fours, a nice mixture of par threes and par fives. You need to be able to work the ball here, basically have all the shots to score well."
Els faces one of the strongest fields of the season in his bid to clinch the 16th victory of his PGA Tour career. Woods returns to defend the title he won 12 months ago after overhauling Phil Mickelson by a stroke with a superb final-round 66.
The other top 10 members competing are: second-ranked Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen (third), Mickelson (fifth), Sergio Garcia (sixth), 2000 champion Jim Furyk (seventh), David Toms (ninth) and Chris DiMarco (10th). The sole absentee is world number eight Adam Scott of Australia, who will return to the US for next month's Players Championship, a tournament he won in 2004.
Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell represent Irish interests.
In what he calls "the start of my mini-season" Nick Faldo plays his first tournament in America since pulling out of the Masters with back trouble last April. Europe's next Ryder Cup captain, now 48 and an analyst for ABC television in the States, is in the last year of his 10-year US Tour exemption from winning the 1996 Masters and is switching from the commentary booth back to the course to prepare for his return to Augusta.
