Golf: Els Dumps Agents Over Letter

In a major shift in the balance of power in the world of sports agency, Ernie Els, has severed his links with IMG after the company circulated a letter by the agency without his permission offering sponsors the chance to play a round of golf with the South African for up to $200,000.

Els, currently ranked No3 in the world, will join the British-based company International Sports Management, which represents a number of the leading players on the European tour, including Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood and David Howell.

The decision to move by Els will come as a significant blow to IMG, which has dominated the world of professional golf since the mid-1960s, when the company's founder Mark McCormack, who died last year, helped the American Arnold Palmer convert his success on the course into a mutli-million dollar empire off it.

The South African's move comes two months after he expressed his extreme dissatisfaction over another letter circulated by IMG to sponsors on the US PGA tour offering them "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. . .to reward valued employees in an intimate setting with the tour's top professionals. "To say I am hopping mad is an under-statement," he said at the time.

Guy Kinning, head of the IMG's European golf division, declined to comment, though he did not have to. All references to Ernie Els have been removed from the agency's website.