In a surprising move, Ernie Els told CBSSports.com earlier today that he has parted ways with longtime coach, David Leadbetter, and has joined forces with Butch Harmon. Els and Harmon were first seen working together three weeks ago in Miami, and have been exchanging information via e-mail since. The announcement comes at an interesting time, three days before the Masters. Els said:
We have been friends for 20 years and will always be friends. I'm giving him a ticket here for this week. This is purely a professional thing
I don't want anybody thinking badly about Lead. This is basically a new set of eyes. It's a change of, how do you say, lingo. He says probably the same things, but just a little bit differently.
Geoff Shackelford had an interesting response on his blog to Els giving Leadbetter a ticket for the week:
Uh, Lead couldn't have got in otherwise? What, he's not paying his PGA of America dues?
Even though The Big Easy won the Honda Classic last month, it's clear that he knows his game isn't where it needs to be. He knows his three-year plan of challenging Tiger Woods for the number one spot in the world will remain unfulfilled without a major change. Obviously, the new equipment at last year's Masters wasn't enough.
