Former winner Ernie Els drops Scottish Open from schedule

ERNIE Els, a former winner and regular supporter of the event, will not be playing in this year's Barclays Scottish Open, even though a venue for it has still to be confirmed.

The South African has decided to make some changes to his schedule and one of the first tournaments to go is the Scottish Open, which he won in 2003. That was his second success at Loch Lomond, but his 2000 triumph was in the Standard Life Invitational.

Els has played in Scotland the week before the Open Championship for the last nine years and his absence from the field in July, when the Scottish Open is almost certain to be played at Castle Stuart near Inverness, will be a blow to the organisers. "I'm changing it (his schedule) up and I'm not going to play the Scottish Open," said the former Open champion in Hawaii, where he is playing in the Sony Open this week.

Els, who is adding the Canadian Open to his schedule the week after the Open Championship after signing a sponsorship deal with the Royal Bank of Canada, said he wants to focus more on America, where he now spends most of his time and where his children are in school.

"I'm going to play less in Europe, play a bit more in Asia. That's good for the personal brand and stuff we do out there," added the 41-year-old, who has launched the 'Els For Autism Golf Challenge'.