More grounded Els looking for exciting things to happen in 2010

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Ernie Els shot a bogey-free 66 to take the lead at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship.

DORAL, Fla. -- Mentally, Ernie Els is in a great place.

He changed his schedule this year and is playing more in the United States. Gone are those early trips around the world, part of it, anyway, to compete in places like Abu Dhabi and Qatar and Dubai.

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That means more time at home in Florida to take his daughter Samantha to school. More chances to visit the turtle sanctuary or go to the beach with his 7-year-old Ben. More time to enjoy life and put the game in perspective.

"I felt a bit more grounded," Els acknowledged Friday. "I felt a bit more calm this year than maybe in previous years."

It has shown in the way he played the game, too. Els tied for fifth at the Farmers Insurance Open in his second start of the season. He finished 17th or better in his first four tournaments.

Then came The Honda Classic.

Els' swing, that fluid, sweeping stroke that helped earn the nickname "The Big Easy," deserted him last week. The affable South African shot 75 on Sunday, his worst round of the season, and he tied for 67th.

So he went to the range. Repeatedly. Five days and many hours of hard work later, Els is atop the leaderboard at the midway point of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship.

Els opened with a 68 Thursday that left him one shot off the lead after a water-logged bogey on the treacherous 18th hole. His next round was even better, a 66 Friday that put him one stroke ahead of Robert Allenby.

"Two really good days for me -- especially where I was last week," Els said. "I didn't have it last week, so I worked really hard, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, for that matter, and really tried to find something."

It wasn't exactly rocket science, though. Els knows he has tended to slip into the same bad habits ever since he was a kid.

"Basically the ball position gets out of whack, my posture gets out of whack, and subsequently, my alignment, also, gets out of whack," he said simply. "And those are the three basic fundamentals that you need to have right."

Just as Els could self-diagnose, though, he could self-medicate, too. He moved the ball back in his stance and the rest slowly fell into place. By Wednesday, he finally started feeling like he could strike the ball with authority and control his ball flight, as well.

"It feels very awkward (at first)," Els admitted. "So you've really got to trust what you do, otherwise it's really going to get ugly."

Els said he was basically in the same situation two years ago when he all but lost his swing and went to see Butch Harmon for the first time. He saw the instructor this week, too, but more to confirm that he was working on the right things rather than looking for a quick fix.

"It was actually kind of fun to work it out myself," Els said. "After playing professional golf now for 20 years, you know, you should kind of figure your own swing out by now."

In those two decades, Els has won 16 times on the PGA TOUR and 44 more times around the world. He's a three-time major champion, too, but his last came at the 2002 British Open in a five-way playoff at Muirfield.

That said, Els has posted 10 top-10 finishes in the 28 majors he has played since he won the Claret Jug -- including seconds at the Masters and the Open Championship in 2004. So it's not like he didn't have his chances.

This year's venues are right up his alley, too. Els tied for second at St. Andrews in 2000 and 1996. He was runner-up at Pebble Beach in 2000 and he tied for fourth at Whistling Straits in 2004.

"It gives you a bit of hope," Els said with a smile. "For some reason, I feel really good mentally this year. I feel a little bit more fresh than I have been. I feel like I'm up for it a little bit more this year. I'm a bit more excited about my whole game.

"I feel my putting is coming around, my short game is coming around, so I've got a lot more hope than I've had maybe in the last couple of years. So I feel I can have a good one this year. "

Maybe that's why the recent hours on the practice range were so productive. That little demon that used to sit on Els' shoulder, holding him back is gone. He's healthy. He wants to contend regularly again.

"I feel like I'm close and I don't want to let it go," Els said. "... That's why I really wanted to get my mechanics right and give myself a really good chance physically, the physical game. Because my mental game, I feel I'm really in a good space right now.

"So if I can get those two flowing, I think I might have some good stuff happening."

Maybe as soon as Sunday afternoon.