Friday 5 February 2016 13:43, UK
Ernie Els has set his sights on a record fourth Dubai Desert Classic title after shrugging off the putting woes which have hampered his game.
The four-time major winner has dropped outside of the world's top 200 having struggled with putting in recent months, but has bolstered his chances of a first win since 2013 with a bogey-free second-round 67 at Emirates GC.
Els' future appeared in doubt after several bouts of the "yips", having followed two close-range missed putts at the back end of 2015 with a two-putt from less than 18 inches during last month's SA Open.
But the South African's new cross-handed technique has delivered immediate results, with three birdies and an eagle on Friday giving the world No 205 the early clubhouse lead.
"I feel like I'm looking forward to the weekend," Els told Sky Sports. "I'm not dreading the greens. That's where I've been for the last two or three years since I won the Open Championship.
"I feel very different. I feel like I don't mind making a two-footer or a four-footer. I have been feeling better and better since the first week of the season, where it was pretty bad.
"It's an exact turnaround from a few weeks ago when I was dreading to get on the greens. I'm actually enjoying it on the greens, the surfaces are unbelievable and I obviously have a lot more confidence in the stroke and the set-up."
Els was later joined at the top of the leaderboard by Danny Willett, who fired seven birdies in a flawless 65.
Last year's Race to Dubai runner-up got fortunate in the opening round when his approach in to the 13th came off a rock in the hazard, but Willett was much more impressed with his display on Friday.
"You need a little of luck, and yesterday, that was a nice one," Willett told Sky Sports. "Good things are going to happen for you to compete.
"I played some really good golf and had a lot of good solid shots in the fairway. We gave ourselves a lot of good numbers and didn't really give ourselves too much stress out there, which is key."
Watch the Dubai Desert Classic throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf
