Els and Bjorn ready to get Senior Open debut under way 

Ernie Els is getting ready to tee up in an event he’s been looking forward to for three years as he makes his Senior Open debut at Sunningdale Golf Club this week.

He’s one of four notable rookies this week, joining Thomas Bjorn, Robert Karlsson and recent U.S. Senior Open Champion Jim Furyk in the field for the fifth and final Senior Major Championship of the year.

“I've been looking forward to this event for three years now,” said Els, who has a chance to be just the fourth player in history to win both The Open and the Senior Open.

“You know, we were going to play it last year and obviously couldn't. Couldn't play anything. It's great to be here.”

Since turning 50 towards the end of 2019, Ernie Els has made the most of his playing opportunities at the Senior level.

The South African won on just his third start on the PGA Champions Tour, and is yet to finish worse than a tie 17th in just five Senior Major Championship starts – which includes three top fives.

But until this week, the Senior Open was the one Senior Major Championship he was still left to play in – due to the cancellation last year - and Els admitted it’s one he’s been looking forward to for three years.

A huge part of that excitement for Els is due to the fact that Sunningdale itself is a familiar spot for the four time Major winner – who has lived in the area for more than two decades.

“I've lived in the area for many years now, since 1998. I've played the course quite a few times with the members here at Sunningdale. So I'm very familiar here and really looking forward to it.

“You know, back in the day, I used to play both tours. I used to play European Tour and the U.S. tour and even South Africa, Australia, everywhere. So this was a very central base for me, playing in the world.

“The schools are great. Both our kids were born here in the area. So we were in the same house all those years back, and it feels like coming home, really. I was a very young pro when I came here. Very first place I stayed was across the road here and Renton Laidlaw used to have a cottage here, back in the early '90s, Liezl and I stayed there, so I'm very familiar with this whole area. It's very nice.”

And while the course isn’t his home club, Els does still feel like this week is something of a home game for him – he hopes that will give him an added advantage at a course that doesn’t necessarily favour any type of player.

“It's not my home club but I've played a lot of golf here,” he continued.

“To be in the area, to stay at home, I've got my kids here, they are a older now but they are here. It really feels like a home game for me. I'm looking forward to it.

“You know, the golf course, you can't really just go out there and try and overpower it. It's one of those golf courses you've got to play positionally and get the ball in play on second shots and be patient. So it's going to be a great championship golf course.

“This golf course doesn't really favour any player. Any player can win this week. It's the type of course where, as I say, you have to play with your strategy and be patient, and the guy with a hot putter will do well this week. Anybody can win this week, so that makes it very, very interesting.”

Another familiar face making their first appearance at the Senior Open this week is 2018 Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjorn, who turned 50 in February.

Ahead of his first Senior Major Championship, Bjorn finished third during his Legends Tour debut at Trevose in June and finished third – and said he is enjoying being back competing against old friends and rivalries.

“I don't know if I feel a rookie,” said Bjorn, who continues to play events on the European Tour.

“I don't know if you ever feel like a rookie when you're this age, but I think it's just you come out and you see guys you've played your whole career with, and that gives you a little bit of a different kind of vibe.

“I ended up playing in normal event the last few years with guys that are 20, 25 years younger than me all the time and now you're playing with guys that you have your old golf with. You have your old rivalries and your old friendships, and it gives you a different vibe. It's something that's nice to be part of again. I look forward to it in some ways, but in some other ways you don't really want to turn 50 either. There's a lot of great things about being out with the guys you used to play with.”

For the Dane, one of those great things is an appreciation for the continued worth ethic of the players competing on the Legends Tour. And at a venue neither he or Els concedes is easy, Bjorn is expecting this week to be special.

“They can play. People work hard here. It's a continuous drive to be successful. There's no shortcuts ever in this game. At any level, there's people that work 100 per cent and they do it to the full, and most of those guys out here, they have a great history of achieving things, and they are not scared when they get there on Sunday. This is not an easy place to play. It's a place where you've got to stick your nose down and do the right things.

“It's a lovely event and obviously here on this golf course, it's special.”