Ernie Els is predicting the “best ever” BMW PGA Championship as the World Number Five looks to add a stroke play success to the phenomenal match play glory he has enjoyed over the famous West Course at Wentworth Club.

Els has stamped his mark on Harry Colt’s Surrey masterpiece, working with Chris Kennedy, the Golf Courses Manager, in refining and modernising the course over the past two winters.

Now the three-time Major Champion and record six-time winner of the HSBC World Match Play Championship over the West Course is satisfied the alterations will pose a challenge fit for the world-class field gathered for The European Tour’s flagship event.

“I think Chris Kennedy and his crew, again, have done an unbelievable job getting the course in great shape,” said Els ahead of Thursday's opening round. “Right now, the weather is great, and I think if it can stay this way, we're going to have a great championship; it will be the best ever.”

The modifications to the West Course have brought the layout up to date to meet the demands of today’s golfer and puts a premium on accuracy off the tee and shaping shots around various new bunkers.

“The equipment has changed and golf courses have had to change,” said Els. “It’s up to date. You’ve got to be more accurate off the tee, you’ve got to shape your shots into the green and that’s what we try to do.”

Els’s plan was to make the test similar to a US Open course and, as a player who has won two US Opens, has the authority to say he has succeeded on that point.

“The course right here, with the rough, with the bunkering, the way the greens are going to play, is not too far from any kind of US Open you are going to play,” he said. “And even The Open Championship, my love of links golf, you can see that has come back into the West Course. The bunkering on links courses gives you options, but also plays a couple of tricks with your mind if you miss shots and that’s what I’ve incorporated into this update.”

Wentworth is a place Els and his wife, Liezl, chose to call home and where their children, Samantha and Ben, are growing up. Indeed, it will be Samantha’s eighth birthday on Friday and the Els household is sure to be a busy place throughout the week.

“This is a wonderful place, it’s home for me,” said Els. “We have been here for quite a few years now and it’s nice to play the second biggest event in Europe (after The Open) at your home course.”

England’s Luke Donald, one of five players from the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings in the field, is among those looking forward to the new challenge.

“It’s a longer course with a lot more bunkering,” was Donald’s initial assessment. “I think Ernie and Wentworth felt they needed to make the course a little bit harder. This is the flagship event of The European Tour, and they want a good test. They want the best player to win, and the harder the golf course is, usually separates the field a little bit. So I like the changes.

“There are a few holes where you’re forced to hit more club off the tee rather than just playing for position. And that way it didn’t feel like the course got too much longer because instead of hitting irons, you’re hitting woods to the same place. But just made it a little more difficult.”

Tickets to the BMW PGA Championship will be available on the Gate for each of the four days of the Championship, May 24-27, or online by visiting www.europeantourtickets.com. All four days will be broadcast live on BBC Television.

This year's field includes no fewer than seven Major Championship winners with Singh joined by Michael Campbell, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, José Maria Olazábal, Paul Lawrie and Sandy Lyle.