Ernie Els US Masters GolfersAUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 06: Ernie Els of South Africa drives off the 15th tee during the first round of The Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club on April 6, 2006 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

South African Ernie Els has been in a bit of trough since he injured his knee while on a sailing holiday with his family in 2005. The general consensus, though, is that he has the skill and temperament to make it back to the big time.

Els, dubbed the ‘Big Easy’ for the smooth, effortless way he swings the club, and his placid manner on and off the course, captured his first Major in 1994 at the US Open in his debut year on the PGA Tour. Since then he has won two further Major tournaments – the US Open in 1997 and the British Open Championship in 2002.

Els had a wonderful amateur career, won his first professional tournament on the Sunshine Circuit in South Africa, joined the European Tour in 1992 and two years later joined the PGA Tour in the States. To date he has a very respectable 57 professional wins and his best results at the two remaining majors are:

  • US Masters – 2nd in 2000 & ‘04
  • PGA Championship – 3rd/T3 in 1995 and 2007

At his best Els is something to behold. He is the kind of golfer who takes the course by the scruff of the neck and bludgeons it into submission with power and finesse. He has all the cards in the deck – he drives the ball as well as anybody, his long iron play is superb and, his repertoire of shots around the greens is reminiscent of the youthful Seve Ballesteros.

He is the only South African to have reached the top of the world rankings and is again aiming for the top spot. He is currently ranked at no.5 (September 2007).

  • At the British Open in 2006 he finished in third place, and on the second day he matched the course record with a magical 65 – his best result in a major since he tied for fourth in the 2004 US PGA championship.
  • At Southern Hills at the 2007 PGA Championship, he provided the best evidence that he is ready to emerge from his two-year drought by charging with a final-round 66 to finish third.
  • At the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie he tied 4th – clearly more evidence that Els is on the comeback trail.

The Big Easy has a plan to get back to the no.1 spot he last held for eight weeks in 1998. “There’s a lot of good in my game,” he said after his final round at Southern Hills. “I’m not quite where I think I can be. But if I can get to the next level where I want to be, maybe I can at least give him (the inimitable Tiger) a real go - a run.”

Els and Woods have never really locked horns at crunch-time at a Major. Although Els has finished second to Woods in two Majors, they occurred during Wood’s epic runaways at Pebble Beach and St Andrews in 2000. In the two Majors Els has won since Woods turned pro, Woods didn’t feature. Could the 2009 US Masters be the venue of a revival of their once-aborted rivalry? Let’s hope so.

How do you rate Ernie Els, and other US Masters golfers this year?