Ernie Els believes he can add more major titles to his collection - before retiring to sell hotdogs on a beach in South Africa.

For fans of Rory McIlroy, it was difficult to know what to make of the mixed messages coming from the world number two during his unfortunately brief appearance at the Irish Open.

Open officials today insisted it would be “a shame” if no women attempted to qualify for this year’s championship at Hoylake.

Fredrik Jacobson’s amazing run finally came to an end this morning as Ernie Els attempted to get his Open defence back on track at Royal St George’s.