Ernie Els' nephew Jovan Rebula cruises into Amateur Championships final

Ernie Els hopes his nephew Jovan Rebula has a rather more enjoyable experience in Saturday’s final of the Amateur Championship than he himself did 30 years ago.

Rebula, 21, performed with distinction in accounting for a couple of Englishmen in Friday’s quarter-finals and semi-finals at Royal Aberdeen. First, the South African beat Somerset’s Tom Sloman 2&1 and then he destroyed Bristol’s Mitch Waite 6&4. Waite snapped his driver in frustration and his reaction summed up the home challenge. For the first time in 11 years, the UK will not be  represented in the final.

Els might be put off from attending on Saturday by the last time he tried to be a positive influence in the historic event. At Royal Porthcawl in 1988, he bowed out in the early rounds but hung around to caddie for Ben Fouchee, before his countryman agonisingly lost on the last to Sweden’s Christian Hardin.

Asked about his famous uncle, Rebula – who takes on Ireland’s Robin Dawson – said: “Every night he has been sending me messages. One said, ‘come on boy’. We have a very tight relationship. He’s always motivating me. He has been awesome.”

In Connecticut at the Travelers Championship, Rory McIlroy shot a 69 to move to seven under, three off the early second-round pace set by American Brian Harman, with England’s Paul Casey on eight under.

Meanwhile, at the BMW International in Germany, Tommy Fleetwood scraped inside the cut on four over. Another 74 left the Englishman, who finished second  in last week’s US Open, 10  behind halfway leader, the Australian Scott Hend.