Ernie Els aims to halt rankings slump

ERNIE Els has a fight on his hands as he starts his 2012 season this week at the Volvo Champions – and he has not been helped by a change in how the world rankings are worked out.

The former No 1 has dropped from 56th to 71st since the start of the year even though he has not played since 11 December.

Els’ big drop is explained by the fact that it is now a player’s last 52 events that count rather than the last 54. The two he has lost early in 2010 were both wins – first in the CA World Championship in Miami and then at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

As a result Els is in danger of falling out of the sport’s elite group, even before The Masters in April, a tournament he has not missed since his debut in 1994. Only the top 64 qualify for next month’s world match play championship in Arizona.

The 42-year-old’s hopes of making an instant move back up the rankings have been boosted by the switch of this week’s event from Bahrain to Fancourt – a course he knows so well. “It’s literally just down the road, so I don’t even have to pack my bags,” said Els.