Montgomerie due a win, but Els remains the man to beat

In relentless rain yesterday afternoon, the practice ground at Wentworth was deserted, but for the isolated figures huddled under a golf umbrella. Coach Pete Cowen and caddie Billy Foster were sheltering as best they could, while Darren Clarke prepared for his first challenge in the Toyota World Match play Championship, starting this morning.

Given the hostile conditions, and that he had just spent nearly six hours playing in a pro-am, Clarke's commitment needed no further emphasis. He is in an elite field of 12, playing for a top prize of £170,000 and a minimum return of £50,000.

"Very few first-round players ever win here," said Ernie Els, seeking the title for a fourth successive year. In fact, Clarke is attempting to emulate the achievement of only four players since 1980, and they happen to be the formidable quartet of Seve Ballesteros (1981), Greg Norman (1983), Ian Woosnam (1987) and Corey Pavin (1993).

Clarke is in the third match off the tee today against Brad Faxon, while Els, Nick Price, Colin Montgomerie and Steve Elkington are exempted through to the last four. "With 36-hole matches, that's a big advantage," added the South African.

He will get no argument on that point, particularly with the renowned West Course rain-sodden and playing about two clubs per hole longer than it normally does. "There's not an inch of run on the ball," said Clarke, who needed a three-iron second shot to reach the green at the 471-yard opening hole.

But what of a 36-hole match? How different will it be from the sort of golfing challenge he was weaned on as an amateur and had to face as recently as 11 days ago in a Ryder Cup singles against Phil Mickelson? "I'd like to have been playing 36 holes against Mickelson," he replied with a grin.

And who could blame him? After all, the American left-hander opened up a three-hole lead after four, and by the time Clarke came back into things on the homeward journey, there simply weren't enough holes left to avert a 2 and 1 defeat.

Valderrama also loomed large in the thoughts of Woosnam, who faces Ryder Cup colleague Jesper Parnevik in the first match this morning. The little Welshman knows what it takes to win at Wentworth. Apart from capturing this title on two occasions, he won the Volvo PGA Championship for a second time last May, beating Clarke, Els and Nick Faldo into a share of second place.

Meanwhile, he was still bristling yesterday over the manner in which he was treated in the Ryder Cup. "I was disappointed I didn't play more, particularly in view of my good record in four-balls," he said.

"Seve obviously had his reasons, but I would have felt a bit happier about it had he asked me what my feelings were. I showed what I could do by taking a rookie (Thomas Bjorn) with me and winning. I also won with (Costantino) Rocca at Oak Hill and with Peter Baker in 1993."

Woosnam then confirmed that none of the three European players omitted from Friday's action - not himself nor Clarke nor Bjorn - had been so informed by Ballesteros. "You could say it was unusual," he said. "I found out from the television. Everybody was in the same boat. Seve had his own way of doing things and that was it.

"If I were captain I would be in touch with my players to find out how they were feeling. There was more communication in the other Ryder Cups I played in." So, would he like the job of captain? "I'd love to be captain," he replied. "It would be something great to do."

As for his clash with Parnevik, Woosnam said defiantly: "I've got nothing to prove to anybody. Jesper is having a fantastic year, but I'll be trying everything I know to beat him. I will need to be on top of my game and I know that I have what it takes, even if my driving isn't very good at the moment.

"I just can't seem to get any distance into them," he explained. "I'm losing up to 30 yards from my normal length, and that really becomes noticeable when you're playing the par fives, which are so important on this course."

On the subject of match-play success, Els had tangible reason to appreciate the lengthier matches in this event. For instance, in a thrilling second round tie last year, he was six down to Steve Stricker at lunchtime before winning their quarter-final tie on the last hole. "I think the better player will prevail over 36 holes," he said.

The sort of financial comfort that comes from being twice US Open champion, among other things, has allowed Els to take a rest from the circuit since the BMW International at the end of August. And he took full advantage of the five-week break by absenting himself entirely from the golf course for the first fortnight.

"After that, I played only the odd social round, so I felt the need to get here on Monday," said the South African. "During the first practice session, I found myself hitting some strange irons shots, but I gradually began to get the feel back."

During his recent holiday, Els avidly watched the Ryder Cup on television and won "a lot of money" in bets with his friends. He stubbornly refused, however, to divulge which team he favoured, other than to express surprise that Europe established such a big lead from the four-balls and foursomes.

This week's field is undoubtedly strong, though not quite of the calibre one came to expect in previous decades. Those were years when the early dominance of Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus gave way to the era of Tom Weiskopf, Hale Irwin and Isao Aoki, to be followed by Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros and Faldo.

Els readily admitted yesterday that the toughest of his nine matches so far was a quarter-final meeting with Ballesteros in 1994. "That was quite a baptism and I must admit I expected something special after Seve had beaten David Frost by 8 and 7 the previous day," he said. As it happened, Els was only two up at lunchtime after a morning round of eight-under-par, and was eventually 11-under-par for the holes played when he beat the Spaniard by 2 and 1. Two rounds later, he won the title for the first time with a 4 and 2 win over Montgomerie.

The big Scot, who was unquestionably the hero of Europe's Ryder Cup triumph, is making his sixth appearance in an event in which, one feels, he is overdue a win. Experience should certainly be a significant boost, given that he has played 13 matches, reaching the final once and being a beaten semi-finalist on two other occasions.

He is clearly anxious to achieve a breakthrough, given a decidedly low-key approach to his opening match tomorrow when he faces the winner of the Clarke-Faxon match. "I want to lie low a little bit," he said yesterday, avoiding the sort of Ryder Cup questions that Woosnam was happy to field.

"I am really looking forward to challenge of securing my first win," Montgomerie said. "The extra day (being exempted into the last four) should be a significant advantage to me, particularly in these conditions. The course is playing very long and the guys will be tired."

One suspects that the Ryder Cup post mortems are only beginning. In the meantime, Els stands centre of a world stage, in conditions that could be hardly better suited to his rather special talents.