THE Big Easy was back in the groove again on Monday and what a delight it was to see.

Ernie Els may have struggled to come to terms with the Augusta National last month when falling well off the pace in the Masters, but for me he is still the main man.

After his disappointing and unexpected showing in the battle for the Green Jacket he has been struggling with confidence in recent weeks but it was back in abundance at the weekend. You can't keep a good man down or, in this case, the big man.

He looks like he has lost weight but none of his talent. His final round 65 at the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai on Monday had all the hallmarks of one of the best around and that is exactly what he is.

That was his third European Tour event win this year and, although I wasn't in Shanghai to see it, I witnessed his two other wins in Qatar and Dubai earlier in the season and he was in fantastic shape.

Tiger Woods may be regarded as the world number one again and Vijay Singh is Vijay Singh - a class act. But in my eyes Els is the unofficial number one.

He covers the most miles on the circuit and continues to turn on the style on the European Tour while he also goes over to the States to perform on occasions.

I had the privilege of playing a round with him four years ago - the last time I had my card - in the Omega Masters and it was an honour.

He's a genuinely nice bloke and one who I think should be regarded as the best just because he is prepared to travel the world and not just stay in America.

SHANGHAI should have been a place where I was but I just didn't see the point of going across to the Far East to play just one tournament.

After playing in Spain and Madeira - where I made both cuts and continued to do my chances of retaining my card no harm at all - I decided to just take a few weeks off and work on my putting and swing with my coach, Ian Rae.

There was an invitation that came my way for the Johnnie Walker Classic but I had already pulled out of the Asian Open so I chose just to return to Hartlepool for a two week break.

It was probably wise because I now have a six week spell of tournaments and hopefully by the time they have passed I will have upped by earnings to somewhere near the £130,000 I need.

THE Telecom Italia Open starts tomorrow and that is the first stage of the next phase. But as well as aiming to do well at the Castello di Tolcinasco Golf Club I may take a little time out to watch a big Serie A match.

I'm based here in Milan and Italian giants AC Milan and Juventus will be going head to head at the San Siro at the weekend and a few of the lads are going along to watch. Wouldn't it be fantastic to be there when Serie A was decided?