Star draw Els faces battle to avoid missing cut

AFTER a day he would like to forget in a hurry, star attraction Ernie Els is in danger of missing his first halfway cut on the European tour for six years.

A red-hot favourite for the Qatar Masters in Doha - he is the only player in the world’s top 50 taking part - Els managed only a one over par 73 to be joint 81st after the first round.

The world number three, winner of the Dubai Desert Classic last Sunday, trails Swede Pierre Fulke, 423rd in the rankings after a nightmare slump since the 2002 Ryder Cup, by seven strokes.

Only the leading 70 and ties tonight go through to the final 36 holes and the South African last failed to do that on the European circuit at the 1999 German Masters, where he was disqualified for not completing his second round following two shots into water.

His current run of 58 cuts in a row is second in tour history to Bernhard Langer’s 69 between 1991 and 1996.

“I still feel I am swinging well, but I just couldn’t get anything going,” said Els, who is thought to have been paid well in excess of the £129,917 first prize to participate.

“If we are looking for excuses I was a bit more flat than I have been and it was just one of those days. I tried, but I just couldn’t get the ball close.” In front of a sparse crowd - only about 50 people were watching as he teed off - Els began with a bogey six, the third round in a row he has failed to start with even a par.

A pulled second shot and then three putts led to that and then 11 pars in a row came before he left his tee shot to the 186-yard 13th short of the green and failed to get up and down.

It took him until the 18th to get a birdie on his card, chipping dead from the back of the green at the 581-yard hole, but while that did at least spare him finishing the day alongside Bahrain amateur Nasser Yacoob Saleh, it was still his worst score of the year.

Fulke was in the world’s top 40 when he qualified for the Ryder Cup, but his last top 10 finish was nearly 18 months ago.

“A lot of reasons really - and it was self-inflicted,” said the 34-year-old after his bogey-free display. “After the Ryder Cup I became more passionate about course designing than playing.”

Fellow Swede Henrik Stenson, Australian left-hander Richard Green and Welshman Garry Houston - 409th in the world - share second place following 67s, but one bad drive led to Europe’s new Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam tumbling off the leaderboard.