Els doesn’t feel pressure to win

Associated Press

HUMBLE, Texas

Ernie Els is approaching the Houston Open like any other tournament, and not worrying about the bigger prize at stake.

Els must win this week to qualify for next week’s Masters and avoid missing the season’s first major for the first time since 1993. But he’ll consider winning at Redstone a bonus, and is more focused on building on the strong start to his year.

“You can’t go into a week putting pressure on yourself to win to get into another week,” Els said. “I just want to have a good week. If I can win, obviously, that would be absolutely wonderful. But my goal here is not to get into the Masters, it’s to play the Shell Houston Open as good as I can.”

The three-time major winner had his chances in recent weeks, earning top-5 finishes at Tampa and Bay Hill. But he missed crucial short putts late in both tournaments and seems resigned to the reality that he won’t be at Augusta next week.

“It’ll be a very weird feeling,” Els said. “Since I’ve been a professional at this level, I’ve played at the Masters, so it’ll be a very weird feeling not to be there. I’ll miss it.”

Phil Mickelson is the defending champion in Houston, and the field also includes local favorite Fred Couples and international stars Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell, the runner-up to Tiger Woods at Bay Hill last week.

The tournament became the run-up event to the Masters in 2007, and organizers have embraced the distinction. The course is manicured to simulate conditions at Augusta, with light rough, fairways mowed toward the tees, shaved mounds and slick greens.