“She knows daddy’s a golfer and he’s in a bad mood when he’s had a bad round,” said Els.

Just 24 hours earlier Els’ mood could not have been more miserable after stumbling to a seven-over-par first round 78.

Humiliation and a missed cut beckoned, just as it had at the US Masters in April when Els shot a first round 79 before following it up with a 66 and an eventual sixth place.

Today’s three-under-par effort which leaves him four over for the championship perhaps was not quite as spectacular but it could yet be significant come Sunday night, because true to his status as a genuine champion there is no way Els is giving up on that Old Claret Jug, the replica of which has accompanied him to all points of the globe during the past 12 months.

“I worked very hard and played very well at stages,” said Els.

“I’ve just got to get my putter warmer but I’m happy to be here for the weekend. My swing was better today with the driver and on the greens I wasn’t sweating around like a boxer like yesterday.”

Maybe not, but he was fighting tough from the moment he rolled in his first birdie from 10 feet at the 418-yard par four second hole.

Another followed at the fourth and a supporter in the crowd gave a big shout of “C’mon Ernie” and Els returned that courteous smile which sits so well with his languid demeanour.

No player oozes more confidence than the South African when he is in the groove which has brought him five victories this season, including the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond just last week.

At the 420-yard fifth he held up proceedings for four minutes while a marshal ran forward to clear spectators from a distant mound – Els having decided to take the tiger line in a bid to hit the green.

Once the ‘Red Sea’ of fans had been parted Els’ drive travelled a mere 335 yards, though his confidence was not rewarded with a birdie.

Golf, however, is a game of momentum and it seemed Els was set to make the charge he required at the par-five seventh – another monster downwind drive, which his caddie Ricci Roberts confirmed travelled 400 yards, giving him an eagle chance if only he could have found the green with his wedge.

Inexplicably, he pushed his approach into the greenside pot bunker and while he splashed out to seven feet two putts recorded a par which must have felt like a bogey.

“It would have been easy to lose it from there,” admitted Els. “But I stayed the course.”

Not so the three South African fans sidling along the fairways like the crabs on the nearby shoreline to show off their yellow tee-shirts bearing E-L-S.

Temporarily they abandoned their hero, no doubt for the nearby beer tent, which was something of a mistake considering Els then produced the sort of ingenious shot-making which Greg Norman lamented was a dying art prior to this tournament.

Faced with the trickiest of chips across the upturned saucer of a ninth green Els elected to run the ball clean over the green and up the far bank with a nine iron, where it braked nicely, reversed smoothly and settled by the pin for an easy tap-in.

The crowd loved that one and Els was out in 34, six shots better than his nightmare first round.

In truth he could easily have broken 30 with just a little more stardust applied to that putter.

His only bogey of the day arrived at the 11th when he missed a 20-foot putt for par but two more birdies, one at 13 and another with a precisely-judged eight-foot putt at 17 saw him into the good books of daughter Samantha. His verdict on his chances?

“Even with good weather if you get to level par you’re going to be close,” said Els.

“At least I’ve got a chance now. I’ve got to keep the momentum going and hope for the best.”

At which point he caught sight of the leaderboard featuring a certain Mr Ho. “What do you know about him?” came the question.

“Just that he’s got a shorter surname than me,” quipped Els.

It was that sort of day – Ho, ho, ho all the way.