Els aims to banish memories of Dubai

NEW DELHI, India -- Ernie Els will put the memory of his disastrous finish in Dubai last Sunday behind him as he prepares to tackle the inaugural Indian Masters at the Delhi Golf Club this week.

World number four Els led Tiger Woods by four strokes going into the final day at the Dubai Desert Classic, but had to settle for third place behind the world's top player after sending his approach to the 18th into water.

"It was a pretty disappointing way to end the tournament. It's always tough to take, but I have to look at the week as a whole and try to draw some positive conclusions," Els said on his Web site.

"I felt like I was swinging the club well and, considering it was my first tournament in six weeks, I was pretty sharp and competitive out there.

"In the end, like I said, it just came down to a couple of mistakes. Obviously I have to eliminate those from my game, but other than that everything is okay."

The 38-year-old South African, one of the most widely-traveled golfers on the circuit, is looking forward to the historic event.

" I've been here before and it is definitely one of the game's big emerging markets," he said.

"So this is an exciting week for golf in the region; it provides the Indian players with a great opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best players in the world. It's great for the fans here, too.

"I'm looking forward to the experience. I have to put behind me what happened last week in Dubai. It's history -- there's nothing I can do about it now.

"What I can focus on are the positives; the fact that I was swinging the club well all week in Dubai, hitting my driver great, and that overall I felt comfortable with my game."

Top Europeans taking part are Thomas Bjorn, David Howell, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell, who finished fifth in Dubai.

Local hopes rest with Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Arjun Atwal and Shiv Kapur, all of whom have plenty of European experience. E-mail to a friend