Golf-Els checks belly and eyes to up his putting
|
Ernie Els has gone to a belly putter to see if he can improve on the greens. He also went to an eye doctor.
Els, who ranked No. 181 in putting last year on the PGA Tour, has consulted with Sherylle Calder, an eye specialist who also works with the Springboks, All Blacks and England rugby teams to help with hand-eye coordination, concentration and other visual performance aids.
"We've been working on some good stuff to do with my eyes, and I can see a lot of positives for me at the moment,'' Els wrote on his website. "To use a cliche, she has literally opened my eyes about putting again, and it has helped bring back good memories of what I used to do when I was one of the best putters in the world in the 1990s and early 2000s.
"If my putting properly comes around, I can start winning golf tournaments again.''
Els is at No. 59 in the world and has to crack the top 50 after Bay Hill toward the end of March to secure a spot in the Masters. The first step is to stay among the top 65 for two more weeks and get into the Match Play Championship.
"To be honest, it's a little bit weird being outside the top-50, but I put myself in this position by not playing great last year, so I can't complain. I've just got to play my way back into the top-50. If I do qualify for the Masters it would obviously be great. If I don't, then I will just keep plugging away. That's the only thing I can do.
"For the first time in my career I find myself looking at the rankings. When you're comfortably inside the top-10 as I was for something like 750-odd weeks, you don't look at these things. Now it's a different story. I've got to play myself into the Masters and into WGC events like Doral and the Accenture Matchplay, too."
Els also stated that Dan Quinn, who caddied for him at the 2010 Masters, will continue to carry his bags while regular bagman Ricci Roberts recovers from a broken ankle sustained the during the Ernie Els Invitational in December.
|
Back to news list