Two victories. More than $1.8 million in earnings.
That’s a good year for most players. Heck, it’s a career for most players.
Ernie Els, though, hopes it’s just a start. He hopes it’s the beginning of what will be a career-defining season.
At 33, Els believes he is physically and mentally ready to play the best golf of his life. He is backing it up thus far.
He shot 31-under-par in the season opener at the Plantation Course in Maui, shattering the PGA Tour record for lowest score relative to par. Then Sunday, he dunked a stunning 55-foot birdie putt in the second hole of a playoff to beat Australian upstart Aaron Baddeley (styling with plaid pants and white belt) in the Sony Open.
Add a late-season eight-stroke romp in the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City, South Africa, and Els is on quite a run.
“When you’re winning golf tournaments, you like to think you’re on top of the world,” Els said. “But I still feel like I can improve.”
Els knows the reality of his hot start. Even though his winning streak has lifted him past Phil Mickelson for the world’s No. 2 ranking, No. 1 still looms mightily on the horizon. Because Tiger Woods, out with a knee injury, didn’t play in any of Els’ recent victories, there always is that element of “What if?”
Els tried to avoid the subject Sunday, saying: “I don’t care what he’s thinking. At the moment, I don’t really care.”
He will have to deal with Woods soon enough. How he reacts will determine if this will be Els’ year for the ages.
Els was on the other side in 2000, when he had this annoying habit of finishing second to Woods–by 15 shots at the U.S. Open and eight at the British Open. The frustration got the best of him, especially during the 2001 season.
“The first six months, I was just nowhere,” Els said. “I was just flat. I was just going through the motions.”
The presence of Woods and his nine victories in 2000, Els said, forced him out of his game.
“Unfortunately for me, I was just caught up in that kind of whirlwind of his,” Els said. “I kept on finishing second (five times in 2000). Then the next year, I was going, `OK, now I’m going to try to do this.’ That wasn’t quite me. It was a problem.”
Late in 2001, Els finally realized he was going down the wrong road. He decided to go back to basics.
“Instead of trying to improve things, doing things out of the ordinary, trying to chase Tiger down, I just thought, `Play my game. See where it goes,'” Els said.
It went to some good places in 2002. He fended off challenges from Woods to win at Dubai and Doral. With Woods out of the hunt, Els survived a four-player playoff to win the British Open.
Now Els wants to take it to another level. Even though he is one of the dominant players of his era, he never has won the PGA Tour money title and has yet to be named player of the year.
Els is more than capable of winning both honors, but he needs to show the consistency of being in the hunt week after week, just like Woods often is. Two wins in two starts qualify as consistent.
He will try to maintain the momentum with upcoming tournaments in Singapore and Australia. He won’t play on the PGA Tour again until the Match Play Championship in late February.
By then, Woods should be back in action. Els, though, insists he isn’t going to dwell on Woods.
“You know, I got talent myself,” Els said. “Obviously, Tiger plays on a different level. But I feel comfortable with my game. If I’m playing my game to my ability, I can compete. That’s going to be my test this year. I really want to compete well doing my thing.”
Els’ thing has been terrific so far. But it’s also a long season and the real race doesn’t begin until Woods puts the first tee in the ground.
Help wanted: With the U.S. Open at Olympia Fields Country Club a sellout, the best way to see the tournament is to serve as a volunteer. The Open still has openings for marshals, scorers and other important positions. To volunteer, call 708-283-8408.
Also, the Open office was able to recover its volunteer database in the aftermath of a Dec. 1 fire. If the office needs additional information, it will contact volunteers directly through the mail in the next few weeks.
