THE OPEN RELATED STORIES The Open Home Page The Open Scores Round 4: Tiger Woods seals two shot victory Round 4: Emotional Tiger Woods thanks late father Round 4: Players give Hoylake top marks Round 4: Ernie Els continues impressive Open run Round 4: Marius Thorp wins Silver Medal Round 4: Sergio Garcia takes positives from Open Round 4: Chris DiMarco consoled by second place Round 4: Tiger Woods edges ahead of field Round 3: Sergio Garcia in sight of first major title Round 3: Ernie Els happy to still be in the mix Round 3: Putting problems keep Woods back Round 3: Chris DiMarco counts on experience Round 2: Woods and Els set for showdown Round 2: Singh & Monty amongst cut casualties Round 2: Ernie Els relishes being in contention Round 2: David Duval frustrated again Round 2: Phil Mickelson well off the pace Round 2: Poor showing by Ryder Cup hopefuls Round 1: Woods makes move with eagle on 18th Round 1: Clarke to take break to care for wife Round 1: Seve Ballesteros happy with opening 74 Round 1: Ernie Els finds putting touch again Round 1: Garcia amongst early front runners Leading contenders for the British Open Tiger Woods ready for Open defence Geoff Ogilvy enjoying life as a champion Weather set fair at Hoylake Phil Mickelson in confident mood Tiger Woods & Nick Faldo fued simmers Trevor Immelman pulls out of Open Players expecting to score low at Hoylake Ben Curtis has sights on second Open title Montgomerie still optimistic about breaking duck Rest of the World catching the Americans Hoylake ready for a new chapter Europeans seeking a Major turnaround Trevor Immelman celebrates birth of first child Tiger Woods is bookmakers favourite Hot, dry and fast Hoylake awaits players Nick Faldo & Tiger Woods row diffused Hoylake a mystery to the whole field John Daly plays "The Cavern" Retief Goosen not confident heading into Open John Senden joins record number of Australians Woods starts Open defence with Faldo The Open Preview Course Guide: Hoylake - Royal Liverpool 2006 European Tour Schedule GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Greg Norman struggles at Troon Ochoa leads with flawless 65 Mike Weir amongst leaders Four share lead in Russia Padraig Harrington hungry for more success Michelle Wie to play on PGA Tour again GREAT GIFTS FOR GOLFERS Golf Breaks to Portugal & Ireland Half Price Golf Vouchers InstructaCard - your portable pro! The Father & Son Golf Ch'ship Golf Insurance

Ernie Els happy to still be in the mix

Ernie Els was grateful to stay one stroke behind leader Tiger Woods after the pair eked out one-under-par 71s in the British Open third round on Saturday.

Off-key with his irons, South African Els collected four birdies and three bogeys to post a 54-hole total of 12-under 204.

"You're not always going to have your best stuff and you have to find a way of scoring and that's what I did today," the 2002 champion told reporters after ending the day tied for second place with Sergio Garcia and Chris DiMarco.

"I struggled with my iron play a little bit but my short game helped me today.

"We didn't play our best today and we let a couple of guys in but we're still in contention," Els added of his performance in the day's final pairing with Woods. It's a major championship and a lot can happen tomorrow."

Fully recovered from the knee injury that left him sidelined for four months at the end of last season, Els was happy with his position going into Sunday's final round.

"Yeah, I have got to be," the three-times major winner said. "I could be out if it now.

"I could have easily shot a 76 or something like that today and I somehow find myself still one shot off the lead."

Els lifted the Claret Jig for the first time in a four-way playoff at Muirfield four years ago having won the U.S. Open in 1994 and 1997.