Ernie Els is certain that the eight-man South African contingent will have a big advantage playing on home ground in the European Tour’s Volvo Golf Champions event teeing off at Fancourt on Thursday.

The winners-only invitation event has been moved from Bahrain to George due to political unrest in the Middle East, and the South Africans are licking their lips at the prospect of playing for two million euro on a course they all know well, Fancourt being one of the country’s premier tracks.

Els spends his Christmas holiday every year in nearby Herold’s Bay, while Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace both come from the Southern Cape and Retief Goosen spends plenty of time here too. Hennie Otto, Garth Mulroy, Thomas Aiken and Charl Schwartzel also have plenty of experience of playing on the Links.

“Local knowledge will definitely come into play here, especially when the sea-breeze picks up, and it’s definitely an advantage for myself, Retief and Louis because we’re here on vacation every year and we know the course,” Els said at Fancourt on Wednesday.

And if there’s anyone determined to make that home-ground advantage count, it’s Els, who is coming off a poor year and played several rounds at Fancourt during December.

“We’ve been coming down here now for the last 22 years, so it’s home for us as a family. I played all of December here, so I have a good feel for the course. Knowing the course is also a big advantage,” Els said.

The three-time major winner has dropped out of the top 50 on the world rankings – he’s currently 71st – and it was his victory in the 100th staging of the South African Open in December 2010 that earned him his spot in the 35-man field.

The awful prospect of not qualifying for the Masters looms large for the South African legend, and The Big Easy is certainly not happy with the situation.

“You lose your sense of humour when you’re not putting well and I’d like to get that back. If I can get the putter working, then you’ll see me smiling more.

“But my work ethic and determination are more than ever. The last season was dismal and I really want to turn things around and win some tournaments.

“A lot of people are reminding me that, at the moment, I’m not in the Masters. I know where I stand in the rankings, I don’t need reminding. But I’ve got a couple of months to rectify it – you don’t want to be asking for an invitation to Augusta, so I’ll just have to qualify!” Els said.