Els moves 3 shots clear

The nickname can be a little misleading. Ernie Els says nothing in golf is easy for him, especially a comfortable lead after two rounds in the season-opening Mercedes Championships.

"It's not the easiest thing to go to sleep on a lead every night," Els said after an 8-under 65 on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, which set a tournament record and gave him a three-stroke advantage over Bob Estes.

The Big Easy sure made it look that way.

He was at 17-under 129 after two rounds, breaking the 36-hole record at the Mercedes by one stroke thanks to a 5-foot birdie putt on the final hole, which made him 11 under on the par 5s this week.

Els has made three eagles over his first 36 holes. He has made only one mistake. And he looks like a man intent on changing his results at Kapalua.

Three years ago, he wound up playing the supporting role in a sensational duel with Tiger Woods. Both eagled the 72nd hole, birdied the first extra hole, and Woods finally won with a 40-foot putt that has become legendary in these parts.

A year later, Els had a four-stroke lead going into the weekend at Kapalua when he lost his composure, lost the lead and eventually lost the tournament.

"You have more disappointments than success in this game. The little bit of success I've had in this game has been pretty nice," said the winner of two U.S. Opens and a British Open last summer at Muirfield.

"I really feel like the season is right there for me," Els said. "Might as well make a good start to it. It's a nice place to do it."

Maui has been too nice for two days - brilliant sunshine, tame conditions, the only white caps in the Pacific produced by the occasional frolicking of humpback whales.

That might change Saturday, with northerly wind expected.

Els and Estes, who had his second consecutive bogey-free 66, would welcome that.

Tough wind makes it harder to make up ground. And Estes knows the wind better than most, having grown up in Abilene, Texas.

"If it's calm, it's almost like playing in Palm Springs," Estes said. "Some more wind would make it a lot better for somebody like Ernie or whoever has played here a number of times. It can totally change what you hit off the tee."

Estes was lucky to be at 132 and in the final group Saturday.

He thought his drive on No. 7 went out of bounds, but marshals found it 20 yards away in the rough. He hit 5-iron onto the green, then made a 60-foot putt that was going so fast it might have rolled into the Pacific had the cup not been in the way.

"I could have made a 6 or a 7 on that hole, and ended up making a 3," Estes said. "That was kind of the turning point in the round."

K.J. Choi of South Korea, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour last year, had his second straight 67 and was alone in third at 134, followed by the trio of Retief Goosen (65), Jerry Kelly (70) and Chris Riley (70).

Riley and Els appeared to separate themselves from the pack by matching great shots on another tame day along the rugged and spectacular coastline of western Maui.

Riley played in the group ahead of Els, and chipped in from just about the same spot on the par-5 ninth for eagle, putting him at 13 under and momentarily in the lead.

But he couldn't keep pace.

Riley hit into the hazard twice on par 5s, taking a double bogey on No. 15 and a bogey on the final hole, both times missing short putts.

Jim Furyk couldn't keep up with Els, either.

He started the second round tied for the lead, but bogeyed the second hole and never got going. Furyk finished with a 72, and was at 136 with Ian Leggatt of Canada.

With 36 holes remaining - and Tiger Woods nowhere to be found, back in Florida recovering from knee surgery - everything is going Els' way.

"I think the test for me now is just to be patient and play my shots," he said. "Let's see what happens tomorrow. I want to play each shot as good as I can. We'll count them up, hopefully to a nice number."

Els did a number on the 36-man field of winners only, especially on the par 5s.

He easily cleared the gorge on No. 5 with a 5-iron to set up a routine birdie. His 7-iron rolled back off the green at No. 9, but he solved that by chipping in. He reached the 15th green with a 3-iron for another two-putt birdie, and had to scramble at the end.

His drive wound up in the rough, the ball slightly above his feet. Els' 4-iron came up short, but stayed in the fairway just long enough to set up a simple pitch to 5 feet.

It wasn't that simple for everyone else.

Defending champion Sergio Garcia had it particularly tough, especially with his putting. He missed a few short ones again, and tossed his putter at his bag in disgust at No. 11.

The putter bent at the shaft just enough to make it non-conforming, meaning he could no longer use it. Instead, he tried an 8-iron and a 3-wood before settling on a sand wedge to hit his putts the rest of the round.

He wound up with a 73 and was 15 strokes out of the lead.

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