The Week: Hot on Tiger's Heels

Els, with four wins already in '03, is making a run at No. 1

By Gary Van Sickle

Els, who set records in Australia, could face Woods next week. David Cannon/Getty Images GOLF PLUS EXTRA Big Play: Nancy Quarcelino TRUST ME Torrey Pines is made-to-order for the 2008 U.S. Open. Last week Tour players struggled with the South course's 7,607 yards, its thick kikuyu rough and the Bethpage Black-like difficulty, failing to make a single eagle in the final round. Blend in the ambience of a municipal course and San Diego's flawless summer weather, and you have a venue that's sure to become a regular in the Open rotation. NEXT UP PGA: Nissan Open Champions: Verizon Classic European: Carlsberg Malaysian Open INSTANT POLL Which 2003 major was the best? The Masters The U.S. Open The British Open The PGA View Results

Tiger Woods is not unbeatable. Rich Beem (PGA), Peter O'Malley (Match Play) and Craig Parry (NEC) proved that last year. Yet no one has seriously challenged his position as top dog. Until now ... if we're lucky.

When Ernie Els won last week for the fourth time in five starts, at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth, Australia, he didn't simply take another step forward as a potential giant-killer and cement his status as the hottest golfer on the planet. More important, he became the first player since David Duval in 1999 to accomplish something, well, Tigeresque.

Els won the Johnnie Walker at 7,014-yard Lake Karrinyup Country Club by 10 shots with a score of 29 under par, a European tour record. In fact, because the event was also sanctioned by the Asian and Australian tours, Els's score is a record on three tours at once. This comes a month after he smashed the PGA Tour's standard with a 31-under blitzkrieg at the Mercedes Championships. Els is now 100 under par in his five tournaments this year, and since taking the World Match Play in October he has won six of his last eight starts.

At Lake Karrinyup, the 66 Els shot in the final round was his highest score in four days. "It was an unbelievable week," he said. "On the world stage I feel like I've stepped up another gear."

Els is shrinking courses with his newfound driving distance. He averaged 314.4 yards off the tee in Perth, up considerably from his Tour average of 281.4 last season. Also, the short game that helped Els win a pair of U.S. Opens as well as last summer's British Open has never looked sharper. Let's summarize: Els is monster long and is chipping and putting like a demon. Sound like anyone we know? "Ernie winning again, that's pretty impressive," Woods said after his victory in the Buick Invitational.

What we've got here is a real rivalry, not the made-for-TV Tiger versus Phil Mickelson kind. The funny thing is, Els and Woods haven't played in the same event this year. As Els mopped up at the Mercedes and the Sony, Woods was recovering from knee surgery. Els has been playing in Australia and Asia since. His hot streak sets up a showdown, but we may have to wait another month before they square off. Els and Woods will both play the Feb. 26-March 2 Accenture Match Play at La Costa, but as the top seeds they'll be on opposite sides of the bracket, so they'd each have to win five matches to meet in the final. Els and Woods are scheduled to play in the March 6-9 Dubai Desert Classic, where Els is the defending champ, but with war looming it's anyone's guess whether they'll risk a trip to the Middle East, if the tournament is held at all. After that, though, we'll get Els versus Woods three times: the March 20-23 Bay Hill Invitational, the Players Championship March 27-30 and the Masters in April.

Els is reluctant to play along. "I'm doing what I'm doing," he said in Perth. "It's not me against Tiger or Tiger against me. It's us against the course trying to win tournaments."

Sorry, Double E, it is you against Tiger. The question is whether the new-and-improved you is a match for the same old Woods. So far, your scores say yes.

Asked when he'll overtake Woods in the World Ranking, No. 2 Els grinned, then said, "I don't know, and at the moment I don't particularly care." He wasn't speaking for the rest of us.

O.B.