Ernie Els hopes a return to his South African homeland can inspire him to play his way out of his recent slump.

Els has slipped to seventh in the world rankings during a relatively barren period for him since he injured his knee in a water sports accident in July last year and underwent surgery.

His only win in that time came at the Dunhill Championship in South Africa - the European Tour title he defends next week - but the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City presents a more relaxed way to ease himself back into action.

A star-studded 12-man field begin their bid tomorrow for the $1.2m first prize but Els, who will also play in the South African Airways Open next month, is more concerned with the long-term picture.

"I have set myself a goal: to get myself back to where I was in world golf and hopefully beyond that," said the three-time major winner, who had a nine-week spell as world number one and has spent recent seasons encamped in the top five.

"My last win was the Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in December last year - that was a win in 2006 (although it is on the European Tour's 2007 schedule).

"I have won every year and I don't want this year to be any different.

"I've got three straight tournaments here in South Africa and, even if I want to do my bit for golf in this country, from a personal point of view, I need to win at least one of them. Maybe more than one.

"Three weeks, three different golf courses that I'm very fond of and where
I've won before - I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Els is a three-time winner of the Nedbank and the competition is as stiff as ever this year with defending champion and world number two Jim Furyk returning along with the likes of other Ryder Cup stars Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Colin Montgomerie, David Howell, Jose Maria Olazabal and American Chris DiMarco.