The hard road back for the Big Easy

For a while there, Ernie Els could not have been more removed from the persona that led him to be known as the ‘Big Easy’.

Out of form, out of the world’s top 50 rankings and out of The Masters, deemed unworthy of an invitation by green blazers at Augusta National, it is no wonder the South African felt he was the punchline to a cruel golfing joke.

So how did Els turn things around to the point where he was crowned British Open champion on Sunday night, succeeding another 42-year-old in Darren Clarke in possession of the Claret Jug a full decade on from his third and most recent major victory?