Earnest Ernie out on his Todd as he rains in putts
At the end of a day that proved just as fascinating and interesting as we had all expected in spite of the terrible conditions, the South African had moved to 11 under thanks to a marvellous 64 and leads by two from Open champion Todd Hamilton and the very much in-form Miguel-Angel Jimenez. Tiger Woods is six under after a 70 while Padraig Harrington is on the same mark after a second 69.
They are among a group tied for 8th place. Five off the pace with 36 holes to go leaves Woods and Harrington in a pretty decent position although they are the first to acknowledge that he is unlikely to bridge the gap on those ahead of him if his putter remains as cold as it was yesterday.
Birdies at the first four gave Els the best start imaginable and he picked up five more along the way with just one glitch, a bogey at the short 11th. You would never have believed that Mount Juliet was playing to its full length of 7,256 yards after fierce rain and merciless showers that waterlogged the course and just about everywhere else - except the greens which remained in majestic condition through the worst of the torrent.
It's not that Els' driving was all that impressive - he hit only five of fourteen fairways - but his approach play was superb and as soon as he got a putter in his hands, he was nothing short of magical.
"When I stood on the practice range and saw that Fred Couples had got to four or five under at a time when it was really rough, it gave us a lot of hope", said Els. "I then went out and holed from five feet at the 1st, fifteen feet at the 2nd, three feet at the 3rd and all of 35 feet at the 4th. I was off and running. A seven iron to the 11th was too much club and cost me a shot but the birdies kept coming. At the 10th, I hit a drive in the pouring rain and had 268 to the flag. For some reason, the wind changed and my three wood came up twenty yards short and I played a really good shot out of the bunker to seven feet and holed that. At 14 and 15, I holed from ten and four feet and at 17 I chipped to a couple of inches. To sum up my day, I putted really well and got the ones that slipped by on Thursday."
That, in fact, was something of an understatement given that Els needed only 22 putts for the 18 holes, an amazing statistic and one due as much to the quality of the greens as to the velvet touch he achieved with the wand. To his credit, the point was not lost on the South African.
"I don't know who the greenkeeper is here (Aidan O'Hara is his name) but he has done an amazing job," enthused Ernie. "The greens are a little slower than two years ago but the surface is every bit as good and the ball rolled perfectly and never jumped or bounced at any time.
"I didn't know what to expect going out there because there is still a bit of rust in my game after a few weeks off. I didn't want to be too aggressive and planned to take every shot as it came and managed to do that. A 64 in those conditions is a good score and I suppose my first really low round since I won the Memorial tournament at Muirfield Village in May.
"I needed my rest. I was in South Africa, where I have some design work and London and watched a lot of the Ryder Cup and also worked on my fitness for two weeks. Now I want to rededicate myself to the game."
Els denied that he was deeply upset that it was Vijay Els and not himself who had taken over as world number one from Woods. He admitted that he had his chances to do so but couldn't press the advantage home. At the same time, he was full of praise for Singh's record over the past few months, adding: "he seems to be in the same zone as Tiger was a few years ago. He certainly deserves it, winning eight times is phenomenal."
But he also added: "I can get there" and few who saw him in action yesterday would be prepared to argue.
There is a very realistic prospect that Els will renew his rivalry over the weekend with Todd Hamilton, the man who shocked the world and Ernie by beating him in the play-off for the Open Championship at Troon in July.
Els insists he isn't fazed by such a happening, insisting that "this is a different tournament. It will be great to play with him again. I haven't seen him probably since the Open. Whatever happens must happen. I'm just here to try and play as well as I can. Looking back, I'm trying to look at the year in a positive way. I came so close to winning four majors this year.
"I've never been in that position before. I definitely did something right. In three of the four, I was right there 'til the death. But obviously being human and being an athlete, you play to succeed and play to win and when it didn't happen, I was quite disappointed but I'm fine now."
Today, Els goes out in the last match with Miguel-Angel Jimenez who finished birdie, eagle par to join Todd Hamilton on nine under.
