Sentosa, November 12: "Big Easy" Ernie Els is itching to tee it up in the
US$5 million Barclays Singapore Open, a tournament he describes as "world
class."

The three-time Major champion, fresh from a win in the King Hassan II Trophy
in Morocco at the weekend, will be making his third straight appearance in
the Barclays Singapore Open at Sentosa Golf Club.

He was runner-up to Australia's Adam Scott in 2006 following a play-off
defeat but missed the cut last year after being weakened by illness in what
is the richest national Open on the Asian Tour Schedule.

"I've experienced mixed fortunes the last two years; I played really nicely
in 2006, but lost out in a play-off to Adam Scott, and then last year I had
a horrible couple of days and missed the cut…although to be fair I was
suffering from sickness in the first round," said Els on his official
website www.ernieels.com.

"I like this tournament and I like the course at Sentosa Golf Club, so I'm
looking forward to teeing it up here again. I've played quite a few
tournaments in Asia and believe me, this is the best.

"The sponsorship by Barclays, the quality and the way everything is set up
and run – you know, it is all very professionally done; world class
basically.

"This whole package, and a significant prize fund, is what helps attract the
quality star players from around the world; guys like Phil Mickelson,
Padraig Harrington, Adam Scott, Ian Poulter, KJ Choi and Darren Clarke.

"I'm happy to be here and I know all these guys are, too. I'm a big fan of
Singapore, too. To me, it is the best city in Asia and I have always enjoyed
my time here. The people are very friendly and I just love the whole buzz
about this place."

The cream from the region will also feature in the full-field Asian Tour
event. Eighteen of the top-20 players from the Order of Merit, including the
last six Asian number ones, are in the field shooting for the first prize
cheque of US$792,500.

Amongst the top Asian challengers are India's Jeev Milkha Singh, China's
Liang Wen-chong, the current number one, and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee.