Els enjoys upside in love-hate relationship at Players

(Reuters) - Ernie Els has endured some tough times on the PGA Tour this season but on Thursday at the Players Championship he enjoyed one of his best days at a venue where he has developed a long-standing "love-hate" relationship. The smooth-swinging South African, whose world ranking has plummeted to 229th after recent struggles with his swing and short game, fired a six-under-par 66 in ideal conditions for the opening round at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. It was his lowest s