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Els confident of major glory

Ernie Els is confident of picking up his fourth major title at next month's Open at St Andrews © Getty Images

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• Profile: Ernie Els

Ernie Els feels his game is in perfect shape to win his fourth major championship after narrowly missing out on a third US Open title by two shots.

The 40-year-old, who will tee it up at the BMW International Open in Munich this week, shared the lead with eventual champion Graeme McDowell after a superb start to his final round at Pebble Beach, but slipped back to finish third.

Els' last major championship win came at the Open in 2002 when he came out on top in a four-way play-off at Muirfield, but the world No. 6 is confident his current form will see him contend at next month's Open at St Andrews.

"Obviously it's a long time since I won one of these things but the memories are fresh in my mind," Els said on his website. "I've got three majors already and I like to think I can add to that and win a couple more. Last week just reaffirms that I'm where I need to be.

"I had some chances coming down the stretch [at the US Open], but I wasn't able to convert. I guess a handful of other players could say the same thing.

"I knew what I had to do. I needed to play a good round of golf, make some birdies early on and then try to have a solid finish.

"The first part of that plan worked like a dream. The turning point was going into the back nine, where I'll be honest I hit a couple of loose shots.

"But there were also crucial moments where I hit good shots and just didn't get the breaks that I needed. You know, a couple of bounces here and there and it could have been a different story.

"I'm disappointed because any time you have a chance to win a major and don't it's obviously a huge letdown, but there were a lot of positives. That's major championship golf - it's always won or lost by the tiniest of margins."

Els' last win on European soil came three years ago when he claimed a record-breaking seventh World Match Play title at Wentworth, but two wins on the PGA Tour back in March, including one at the WGC-CA Championship in Doral, have moved the South African to second in the Race to Dubai standings behind McDowell.

"I felt comfortable right there in the mix and if I look at where I am this year I'm happy," Els added. "I'm feeling good again, feeling quite calm. I'm 40-years-old and my game is right there.

"I just have to stay patient, keep working hard and more opportunities will come my way. I love this time of the year and right now I feel like I can win any time I tee it up."

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