Els aims to maintain fine form

OPEN champion Ernie Els has already relinquished his grip on the Claret Jug — but the South African knows a bad week at the Scottish Open is no barrier to getting it back.

Els has loaned the famous trophy to the golf club on the Wentworth estate where he has a home and will have to give it back for good next week when the Open gets underway at Sandwich.

Unless, of course, he repeats his triumph of 12 months ago at Muirfield when he finally added the Open to his two US Open titles after a thrilling initial four-way play-off became a sudden-death battle between him and France's Thomas Levet.