Furious Els criticizes officials for condition of greens at BMW PGA

VIRGINIA WATER, England -- Ernie Els launched an expletive-laced attack on European Tour officials and greenkeepers at the BMW PGA Championship for failing to water the putting surfaces enough for Saturday’s third round at Wentworth.

Els was criticized for tough changes he made to the West Course when he helped redesign it in 2010, but he dished out the disapproval after numerous high scores on Saturday.

"I asked them to put water on the greens, so put … water on the greens," said Els. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. The guys are not happy and I'm with them. The Tour has got to play ball -- it's not my job.

"The 15th green is holding, the 16th is not, the 17th is not, the 18th is not. They're all inconsistent," he explained. "I can't keep talking about this. At some point they've got to listen. I do talk, but they don't listen.

"I can't control the wind and it seems like I can't control the greens staff, either. They've seen the forecast almost a week in advance, but it's like talking to this wall behind me -- I'm fed up," he added. "This is not a surprise. I've been talking since I landed on Monday -- keep the moisture on the greens.

"It gets to me. I want everybody to have a fair and tough examination. Anybody who has half an idea in this game can walk to the 12th green and see. It's dead," he said. "Somebody is not doing their job. Why is this happening?"

Els added that he had spoken to European Tour Chief Referee John Paramor out on the course and was told there had been some watering, but the South African added: "Well, you've got to triple it."

Two days after Rory McIlroy put himself in line for a fine for throwing a club, Els was in danger, too.

The Tour regulations state that "it is an obligation of membership to refrain from comments to media that attack, disparage or criticise officials," and any contravention of that is a breach of the code of behavior.

"We want a tough and fair set-up. The greens have been hand-watered every night after play," said Tournament Director David Garland. "This was done last night and because we knew that east winds were forecast, sprinklers were also put on every single green to give them more water.

"Because of the conditions some fairways were also watered and tees were moved forward on the 13th, 15th, 17th and 18th."