Ernie Els: The Drought is Over

Filed in archive Golf News on March 3, 2008

Courtesy: PGA National Resort

It was great to see Ernie Els back in the winner's circle yesterday at the Honda Classic.

He hadn't won on the PGA Tour in nearly four years - that's a big monkey off his back.

So is the idea of overtaking Tiger woods to become world number one.



Els as much admitted he'd given that up when he said "I am 38 right now, and I can quite easily go and enjoy being with my kids and go build golf courses and stuff.

"But I really still want to achieve a lot in the game, and I still want to win a lot.
I just felt that's the kind of goal for me to really strive for and practise for. So I'm not sure where I am right now, but we'll see."

Those are not words filled with intent.

I'll bet you'll see Els play much better now that he can forget about chasing number one.

Frankly, there isn't a golfer on the scene who can say he wants to take a run at Woods without being laughed at. Not Els, not Justin Rose, not Rory Sabattini, certainly not Phil Mickelson.

The Honda Classic was no gimme for Els. The PGA National in Palm Gardens is one tough customer.

When Jack Nicklaus re-worked the 15th, 16th and 17th - the Bear Trap - he achieved a minor miracle in course design. They could be the hardest consecutive three holes outside of Amen Corner at Augusta.

There were some notable golfers who fell by the wayside and we're now deep enough into the season that the argument of early season rust doesn't hold water.

Guys like Angel Cabrera, Mike Weir, Chris DiMarco, David Toms and others failed to make the cut after 36 holes. And David Duval who had a pretty good 2 over, 72 on Thursday but really fell victim to the Bear Trap in round two going bogey-bogey-bogey to post a 78.

Boo Weekley was only two over at the start of Sunday's final round. He shot an 80 in the gusty conditions.

The Honda Classic proved one thing: if a course is tough enough without being penal and it can take advantage of natural elements like prevailing winds, players will be tested and scores will go up.

I'm all for it.