Golf-Hawaiian delight for Els after tortuous flight

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

KAPALUA, Hawaii, Jan 7 (Reuters) - It took Ernie Els 26 hours to fly to Hawaii for this week's Mercedes-Benz Championship but he is delighted to be back at the Kapalua Resort for the first time since 2005.

Victory at last year's Honda Classic earned him a place in the elite winners-only field for the PGA Tour's season-opening event, a tournament he won in 2003.

"It's good to be back," a smiling Els told reporters on the eve of Thursday's first round on Kapalua's hilly, par-73 Plantation Course.

"It was a long flight, 26 hours in the air from Cape Town, but we finally got here and it's great to be here. It's a wonderful spot and a great start to the year for me."

Asked for details of his long journey to Hawaii, he replied: "We left Cape Town and refuelled in Recife, which is in South America.

"Then we went to Palm Beach (in Florida), spent an evening there and the next morning we flew from Palm Beach, 10 hours. So it was 16 hours and then 10."

The smooth-swinging South African has always played well at Kapalua, producing four top-three finishes in just five starts. He romped to victory by eight strokes in 2003, setting a tournament record with a 31-under total of 261.

"I had four great rounds, with birdies and eagles all over the place," Els recalled of his runaway triumph. "I've had some good times here and it really gets you off to a nice start to the year."