Els could skip Scottish Open

World number three Ernie Els is considering giving the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond a miss this year so he can be in the best possible frame of mind for the Open at St Andrews the following week.

Els fell out of contention for the US Open with a third-round 72 at Pinehurst today – it dropped him to nine-over on the par-70 course – and then said he was thinking of extending his break prior to the Open.