Ernie Els delighted with opening 66

Ernie Els expressed surprise and delight after moving into early contention with a six-under-par 66 in the U.S. PGA Championship first round on Thursday.

The South African world number two mixed seven birdies with a bogey on a day of relative calm at 7,514-yard Whistling Straits, where three of the tees were pushed forward because of predicted 35kph winds.

Those winds, however, did not materialise on the longest course to stage a major championship and Els, playing in the morning, was able to take advantage.

"I think they (organisers) did the correct thing, but there's a lot of teeth still left in this golf course," he told reporters.

"They can stretch it out and make it really very tough. But, for the first or second round, to get the field moving, I think they did the right thing."

Els has been one of the form players at this year's majors, with top-10 finishes in all three, and was delighted to be in the hunt for his first U.S. PGA Championship title.

"I wasn't sure what to expect scoring-wise today because the practice rounds were pretty difficult," the 34-year-old said. "But the breeze wasn't as strong as yesterday and it blew from a different direction.

"I hit the ball well and I drove it well. That was the key today.

"I also made some good putts, several from inside of eight feet. I'm really happy with that."

Three-times major winner Els, who was edged out by American Todd Hamilton in a playoff for last month's British Open, is fully aware there is still a long way to go.

"It's a good start, but there's a lot of guys that have played well today," he said. "Darren's (Clarke) played well, Justin's (Leonard) played well, Padraig (Harrington) also -- there's a lot of guys in there.

"All of that will filter out as the week goes along. I would like to be in the mix, once again. That's all I can ask for.

"I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing. At least my putter came around a little bit, so that's a positive sign.

"Today was a good day, and I can learn from what I've done," added the big South African, who ran Phil Mickelson close at the U.S. Masters in April before finishing second.

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