Ernie Els in prime position despite misses

Ernie Els is hoping for a turn in his fortunes on the greens after a 2-under second round of 69 left him in easy striking distance of the leaders at the halfway stage in the British Open.

The South African, who could dislodge Tiger Woods as world No. 1 if he wins his fourth major title here on Sunday, is three shots off the pace set by American Skip Kendall.

But he was convinced he should have been closer after failing to make more of the chances he created for himself on the easier front nine.

"All in all, 69 in a major is a good score, but I still feel a little frustrated," Els said after signing for a round that included four birdies and two bogeys.

"I think I left some shots out there, but I can't get too down on myself -- I'm three behind and we can make that up at the weekend, but I'd love to make some more putts."

Els said his game from tee to green was as good as it had been at the U.S. Open, where he was in contention from the start before disintegrating with a final-round 80.

But he admitted that he was struggling to regain his confidence on the greens.

"I felt really good about the way I was hittng the ball today. I've just not been that comfortable with the putter so far this week. I've made some good saves but I just couldn't seem to do it on the scoring ones. I can't put my finger on what it is but I've just got to try and sort it out."

Pick of the saves came at the par-3 eighth, the Postage Stamp. After scoring a hole-in-one there on Thursday, Els's second attempt ended in a near impossible lie in one of the five greenside bunkers.

Squirting his ball out to 30 feet was the best he could do with it but the damage was curtailed when he holed the putt.

"That hole has been good to me," he admitted. "All the messups I made yesterday I made up with the hole in one and today I could have made anything and walked off with a three."

Els is not the only menacing figure on the tail of Kendall. The top seven players in the world rankings all reached the half-way stage below par, setting the stage for an intriguing weekend.

But Els believes Kendall and second-placed Thomas Levet will not surrender their advantage easily.

"You would think that one of those (top seven) players would close the deal but Thomas Levet has got a lot of confidence at the moment and Skip Kendall's game is perfect for links golf. He hits it low and straight and he's got a great putter."

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