Tour Report: Els blog: New format to help? (PGATOUR.com)

Ernie Els will write a blog for PGATOUR.COM weekly during the 2011 season. For more information on Els, visit ernieels.com. Here is this week’s installment.

I always look forward to playing Riviera. It’s a wonderful course. I love the bunkering and I love the angles they have with the greens and the way the course flows. You really have to play all the shots. I’ve had some good times here, including a win in 1999, so I’m disappointed with the result in last week’s Northern Trust Open.

I talked before about bringing my range game on to the golf course and in the first two rounds I mostly did that. I hit the ball great, especially on Friday when my 68 proved to be one of the lowest rounds of the day. Over the weekend a couple of bad swings cost me some big numbers here and there, but overall there were some encouraging signs. I have to try to stay patient now and just keep working hard.

The good thing is I’m in the field for this week’s World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and maybe the change in format from stroke play to match play will inspire a change in my fortunes. There were a few years in the mid-2000s when I didn’t even play this tournament, but times have changed. Now I’m very grateful to be in the field. That was a nice little break for me when Phil Mickelson said he wasn’t playing. I’ll have to buy him a steak dinner and maybe send him a good bottle of Ernie Els Signature wine!

I’ve got a great first-round draw against the current world No. 1 Luke Donald. Over 18 holes it’s anyone’s match. At the very least, teeing it up this week in Arizona gives me the opportunity to play myself into a nice stretch of tournaments leading up to the Masters, but there are no guarantees. I’ve got to produce some good stuff here this week and then at the following week’s Honda Classic in order to get into Doral and then I’ve got a great chance of being able to tee it up in the Masters.

It’s been probably 20 years since I was in a position where I had to try and qualify for these types of big events. I’ve got used to basically gliding straight in, but in some ways I guess it’s good to be tested in this way. I’ve got some work to do and that will keep me focused and keep me giving it 100 percent commitment. This right now is a big motivation for me. I mean, my goal this year is to get back and really play some proper golf after a dismal 2011. I think I’m close to getting back to where I want to be.

Okay, so moving on to other matters. You may have seen the announcements about the launch of the 2012 Els for Autism Golf Challenge, but I like to mention it in my diary as well. This is the largest charity-driven golf tournament in the world and in its first year in 2011 we set some pretty impressive records. Almost 9,000 donated money, more than 1,700 golfers took part and all together we raised $1.8 million.

Building on that success we’re adding new golf courses to the schedule in 2012, a total of 30 golf tournaments at some of North America’s greatest golf courses including Congressional, Baltusrol, The Bear’s Club and some of the best TPC courses. We’re also planning to add events in England and South Africa. Watch this space!

I’m delighted to say that SAP, one of our founding sponsors, is this year’s Els for Autism Golf Challenge ‘presenting sponsor’. The SAP team around the world was a major factor in the success of last year’s tournament and is promising to step up their efforts even further this year. I want to thank SAP for their contribution and also the other major sponsors including RBC, Callaway and Wine Spectator magazine.

The goal remains the same, to raise funds for the Els Center of Excellence here in Florida, which will help provide life-changing therapy and e-learning tools to families struggling with autism all over the world. Please sign up early, as places are limited and I wouldn’t want you to miss out on your preferred golf course.

Together we can make a real difference in the lives of children on the autism spectrum, not just here in the U.S. but all around the world.

For all the details visit the website: www.e4agolf.com.

That’s it for now. I’ll write again after the Accenture Match Play Championship.

Ernie Els will write a blog for PGATOUR.COM weekly during the 2011 season. For more information on Els, visit ernieels.com. Here is this week’s installment. I always look forward to playing Riviera. It’s a wonderful course. I love the bunkering and I love the angles they have with the greens and the way the course […]