Injury worries fade for Els & Langer

Ernie Els and Bernhard Langer, two of the leading contenders for this week's British Open, are in much better shape after early worries over back problems.

Neither player was able to practice at Royal Lytham and St Annes on Monday, with Langer at that point rated a doubtful starter for the third major of the year.

Both Els and Langer were able to practice on Tuesday, however, and the South African, in particular, impressed with his ball-striking, despite the wet and windy conditions at the north-west England links course.

"I'm still feeling the back low down but I played without any pain today," Els told Reuters. "Even better, I was hitting the ball really well out there."

Els cancelled a news conference scheduled for the afternoon in order to see a specialist for further treatment, but said it was just a routine check-up.

The recurrence of a lower back injury, which began after last month's U.S. Open, forced Els to miss last week's Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.

The injury also prevented him from having a close look at the par-71 Lytham course on Monday.

"I was meant to play a full practice round but I never got to the first tee," he said at the time. "But I'll crawl around Lytham if I have to. The Open is the greatest tournament in the world."

MORE SEVERE

Langer's back problem had seemed a little more severe earlier on Tuesday.

The German, who has been in excellent form on the U.S. Tour in recent weeks, had to withdraw from the Scottish Open at the halfway stage last weekend because of the injury.

"It's improving, but not enough to play golf yet," he said.

World number three Els, who finished tied for second place behind Tiger Woods at last year's Open, would have been a major loss to the tournament if forced to withdraw.

The popular South African is regarded by many as the most naturally talented player in the world. He also enjoys one of the most successful recent track records at the British Open, with two seconds, a fifth and a sixth in the last nine years.

In fact, the first of his second-place finishes came at Lytham in 1996 when Tom Lehman became the first American to win at the venue since amateur Bobby Jones in 1926.

Els clearly possesses the sort of game required to negotiate the narrow fairways and punishing rough at Lytham.

As for the 43-year-old Langer, he has been in vintage form over the past four months, posting top-six finishes in his last five outings on the PGA Tour.

That includes a second in the St Jude Classic last month and a tie for sixth at the Masters in April. He is currently 18th on the U.S. money list.

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