Els draws upon a record round to guide him in Asian Open

World number five Ernie Els rolled into Shanghai for the BMW Asian Open yesterday with happy memories of his record-breaking triumph two years ago.

The South African headlines an elite field for the US$2.3 million event, which tees off today, and, while he may be jetlagged, Els knows his form is good enough to claim a first title of the year after finishing second in the Verizon Heritage on the US Tour, a tournament that finished only on Monday.

It was Els' third top-three finish of 2007, but it is a 59th international victory that the 'Big Easy' will be chasing at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club, site of his 13-shot victory in the 2005 Asian Open.

'I had a good time. I played well that week and made a lot of putts. I couldn't make it last year so I'm glad to be back,' Els said.

With a Monday finish in America, Els could only arrive in Shanghai yesterday afternoon after dropping his family off in London before taking another long haul to the Far East. He wasn't perturbed by the fact he would not have a chance to play a practice round, especially when he accumulated a 26-under-par 262 winning total two years ago, including a second-round 62.

Joining Els in this week's event, which is jointly sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours, are compatriots Retief Goosen (world number eight) and Anton Haig, who leads the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit; American 'Grip it and Rip it' star John Daly; and European Ryder Cup heroes Paul Casey and Colin Montgomerie.