Els predicts mass challenge for Birkdale title

By Mark Lamport-Stokes SOUTHPORT (Reuters) - More than 30 players have a chance of winning this week's British Open in the absence of Tiger Woods, according to former champion Ernie Els. World number one Woods has been sidelined for the rest of this year while he recovers from reconstructive knee surgery and Els is excited about the opportunities at Royal Birkdale. "You've got to talk about a lot more other players," the 38-year-old South African told reporters on Tuesday. "You've got to talk about 30, 40 players now that have a chance. "I think he (Woods) is so far ahead in the race, we've kind of sagged back a little bit. Phil (Mickelson) still is the true number two in the world. "But this week there's quite a lot of players in the mix to stake a claim to be a favourite. I think it's very exciting. For once I think... [read full story]