Els takes early lead

Ernie Els was two up on Angel Cabrera after seven holes of their HSBC World Match Play final at Wentworth today.

The six-time winner, hoping for an early victory to make it easier for him to fly to Paris in plenty of time for the Rugby World Cup semi-final, went ahead when Cabrera missed the green with a five-iron on the opening hole and failed to get up and down.

Els doubled his advantage with a 32-foot birdie putt at the third, but after the next had been shared in birdie fours Cabrera struck a six-iron to nine feet and holed to cut the gap back to one.

However, the Argentinian, no rugby fan himself, had another bogey on the seventh.