Els advances in Qatar Masters

There was good and bad news for fans and backers of Ernie Els following the second round of the Qatar Masters in Doha.

The good was that Els, in danger of missing the cut on the European tour for the first time since 1999 after an opening 73, moved up from 81st to joint 24th with a 69. The bad was that he is still seven strokes off the lead. Australian left-hander Richard Green came in late in the day with a 68 and on nine under par is one in front of Swedes Pierre Fulke and Robert Karlsson heading into the last 36 holes.

Els reckons he now needs a “quality weekend” to make it two wins in a row following his success in the Dubai Desert Classic.