Els in buoyant mood

LOS ANGELES – Ernie Els will tee off in high spirits at this week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, despite being winless on the PGA Tour for more than two years.

The popular South African was a late qualifier for the limited-field, season-ending event after tying for sixth place at last week’s Chrysler Championship in Tampa, Florida. Els shot a one-over-par 72 in Sunday’s final round at the Copperhead Course, just enough to book his place at East Lake Golf Club as one of the Tour’s leading 30 money winners.”I think I’ll be the happiest guy in the field this week,” the three-times major champion said on his official Web site on Monday.”Normally I just go in there like it’s no big deal.But earning my spot this year was really hard work.”I haven’t had much to grab on to this year on the PGA Tour, so it’s a bit of a relief,” added Els, who lies 27th in the money list with earnings of $2.14 million.Els learned shortly after Sunday’s final round that he would have missed out on Atlanta had he bogeyed either of the last two holes.The world number seven, whose last PGA Tour victory came at the 2004 WGC-American Express Championship in Ireland, has produced seven top-10 finishes in 17 US starts this season.Four of those have come in his last six events, suggesting he is close to his best form.Els is among a high-quality field of 27 at East Lake that features seven of the world’s top 10 players.Two significant absentees, however, are 1999 champion Tiger Woods and 2000 winner Phil Mickelson.World number one Woods pulled out of the event for the first time in his career on Friday, citing fatigue, while third-ranked Mickelson said before last month’s Ryder Cup he would be curtailing his playing schedule for the season.With Canada’s Stephen Ames also absent because of a back injury, the Tour Championship features its smallest field since the event began in 1987.American Bart Bryant defends the title he won by a crushing six strokes at East Lake last year when he relegated Woods to second place.The tournament starts tomorrow.Nampa-ReutersEls shot a one-over-par 72 in Sunday’s final round at the Copperhead Course, just enough to book his place at East Lake Golf Club as one of the Tour’s leading 30 money winners.”I think I’ll be the happiest guy in the field this week,” the three-times major champion said on his official Web site on Monday.”Normally I just go in there like it’s no big deal.But earning my spot this year was really hard work.”I haven’t had much to grab on to this year on the PGA Tour, so it’s a bit of a relief,” added Els, who lies 27th in the money list with earnings of $2.14 million.Els learned shortly after Sunday’s final round that he would have missed out on Atlanta had he bogeyed either of the last two holes.The world number seven, whose last PGA Tour victory came at the 2004 WGC-American Express Championship in Ireland, has produced seven top-10 finishes in 17 US starts this season.Four of those have come in his last six events, suggesting he is close to his best form.Els is among a high-quality field of 27 at East Lake that features seven of the world’s top 10 players.Two significant absentees, however, are 1999 champion Tiger Woods and 2000 winner Phil Mickelson.World number one Woods pulled out of the event for the first time in his career on Friday, citing fatigue, while third-ranked Mickelson said before last month’s Ryder Cup he would be curtailing his playing schedule for the season.With Canada’s Stephen Ames also absent because of a back injury, the Tour Championship features its smallest field since the event began in 1987.American Bart Bryant defends the title he won by a crushing six strokes at East Lake last year when he relegated Woods to second place.The tournament starts tomorrow.Nampa-Reuters