Els brings back good luck caddy Roberts for Open campaign

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Back to basics: Ernie Els

For the past 18 months the world number five, favourite for Royal Birkdale in the absence of Tiger Woods, has been with Irishman JP Fitzgerald. But he decided to make a change following his 14th-place finish in the US Open.

Els' last major win was at Muirfield six years ago, and said: 'The US Open was quite a step forward for me. It wasn't the way I wanted to finish the tournament, obviously, but on the whole I played beautifully all week.

'I didn't make a putt all through the tournament and that was frustrating. I mean, I played "68 golf" in the final round, but ended up shooting a 73 because I couldn't get a putt to fall.

'But I don't want to dwell on the few negatives. I was happy with my swing and I was happy with the way I hit the ball - I can take a lot of positives from that. I have to work on my putting, but I don't see that as being a long-term problem. I'm confident I'll sort it out soon enough.

'The British Open, probably my favourite tournament of the year, is coming up and overall I have to be pretty happy with where I am and where my game is. My mind is good, my focus is good.

'To be honest, I feel very upbeat about things right now.'