General / Editor / 11 April 2007 / Leave a Comment

Ernie Els is looking to get his season back on track after missing his first cut in a major since 1999 at last week's Masters.

The South African admitted before Augusta that he felt he had a good chance of claiming his first Green Jacket, but he endured a tough time at the Masters and didn't play the weekend after finishing Friday on +10 - two shots over the cut mark.

The 'Big Easy' though insists last week's disappointment has made him even more determined to get back to winning ways, as he prepares for the latest USPGA Tour event.

Els will be part of the field for this week's Verizon Heritage Classic, joining the likes of world number two Jim Furyk, US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and Justin Rose.

Speaking on his personal website, the 37-year-old said: "As you can probably imagine it's hard for me to put any kind of positive spin on things when you've just missed your first cut in a major championship for the best part of seven years.

"It's a major downer. To be honest, though, it makes me even more determined to get my game back to where it was four or five years ago, when I was winning all the time."

Els added: "I can't let two bad rounds knock me off course. Augusta was super-tough and I didn't perform, but it's just two days' golf.

"Overall, I genuinely believe that my game is in as good a shape as it has been for some time. I'm feeling pretty good with a club in my hand - all I care about now is converting it into some good scores."

Punters appear to believe the South African will feature at the right end of the leaderboard as he is the second favourite at 15.5 to win this weekend, behind world number two Jim Furyk at 11.5. Stewart Cink is next best at 28, while Davis Love III and Rose are both on offer at 29.

Els will play alongside Jeff Maggert and Heath Slocum on Thursday and a market for his first round 3 ball will open up nearer the time.

In an emerging 'Tournament Matchbet', world number five Els is expected to get the better of Geoff Ogilvy and is available at 1.61, with the current US Open champion trading at 2.14.