Ernie rebounds

Why, oh why, oh why?

Just two days after suffering from a terrible attack of the dreaded yips, Ernie has hit back with a fine 6 under performance at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Els miss from just inches in his first round of 72 at Carnoustie, followed by a 67 at Kingsbarns on Friday, had left Ernie six shots off the overnight lead shared by Walker Cup star Jimmy Mullen and Anthony Wall.

However, while Mullen and Wall had to tackle Carnoustie on Saturday, usually the toughest of the three courses used for the pro-am event, Els was playing a benign Old Course at St Andrews and went out and made hay.

Birdies on the third, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth took the 45-year-old South African to the turn in 31 and, at 10 under par, just one behind Mullen, Wall, Thorbjorn Olesen, Jamie Donaldson and American Chris Stroud.

He was back in the clubhouse with a -6 under his belt, but there are still players out on the course, so we don’t yet know where he will finish for the day.

Joakim Lagergren has also been blazing it up. He shot a -10 at Kingsbarns.