Els faces tough task

Els and Mickleson led the field at Castle Pines last year

Ernie Els will have to fight off a top class field if he is to successfully defend his title at The International at Castle Pines, Colorado.

The South African world number four finally claimed his first win of last year at Castle Pines after four second-place finishes on the US Tour.

Els was thankful then for the absence of Tiger Woods and the world number one will be missing again this week, but the next six players in the world rankings are in the field.

The tournament differs from most on the Tour by using the modified Stableford scoring system, designed to encourage attacking golf.

Greg Norman made his comeback last year

A player earns five points for an eagle, two points for a birdie, zero for a par, minus one for a bogey and minus three for a double bogey or worse.

Els headed the field with a total of 48 points last year but two-time winner Phil Mickelson came close to picking up a third International title.

The American eventually finished second on 44 points and is likely to be in contention again this time.

Open champion David Duval is among the leading names expected to challenge, along with Vijay Singh and Davis Love III.

The European challenge will be headed by Spaniards Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia, who was in contention after three days last year but slipped to 18th in the final round.

Greg Norman was the sentimental favourite last year as he chose The International to make his return to the Tour after hip surgery.

The 46-year-old Australian went on to finish an impressive fifth and will be back at Castle Pines this week.