Els motivated to improve Match Play Championship form

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

MARANA, Arizona (Reuters) - Ernie Els, the king of match-play golf in Europe, is eager to improve his dismal record at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in the United States.

Although the 38-year-old has won the European Tour's World Match Play Championship at Wentworth a record seven times, he has struggled to make an impact in the PGA Tour's equivalent.

In seven appearances, he has been knocked out in the opening round four times, most recently by Britain's Bradley Dredge last year.

"I can't really put my finger on it," South African Els told reporters at Dove Mountain's Gallery Golf Club on Tuesday. "All I can say is I think my mindset has got to be different over here.

"My record is not great in this tournament, as we all know. If I have a better game and I get a bit lucky, you win a couple of matches and you can find yourself in the quarter-finals or semi-finals.

"I'm really aiming at that and basically that's why I'm here. I really like this golf course. It's in really fine shape."

His best performance came in 2001 when the Accenture Match Play Championship was held in Australia for the first time and he reached the semi-finals, losing to Swede Pierre Fulke 2&1.

Asked to explain why he had thrived at Wentworth over the years, Els replied: "I think a major influence might be because I'm sleeping in my own bed. I don't have to fly 12 hours to get there."