Els' major goal proves more realistic

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Now that Tiger Woods has made a mockery of all the silly talk of yesteryear, back when a trumped-up posse of sharp-shooters called "The Big Four" were supposed to challenge the world's best golfer, Ernie Els has set his sights on something more realistic.Something other than taking back the No. 1 spot in the game."I definitely want to win those majors that I haven't won," Els was saying Tuesday at PGA National, where he's one of the marquee names in this week's Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. "That would give me a lot of pleasure. And getting to No. 1, it would be great. But, you know, we're living in the Tiger Era right now, and it seems like he's probably doing what he did in 2000."You remember 2000, don't you? The year Woods won nine PGA Tour titles, a remarkable run that included victories in the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship? You can bet Els does. He finished second to Woods at both the U.S. Open and British Open that year.In 2000, in fact, Els was the runner-up at The Masters, too, which made him the first player to finish second at Augusta and the U.S. Open in the same year and the first to finish second in three consecutive majors in the same year.Coming so close to victory on the sport's grandest stages surely was frustrating for the mild-mannered 1994 and 1997 U.S. Open champion, even though he did add a British Open trophy to his mantle in 2002. And despite playing his way into the major-championship chase the past four years, his near-misses have continued.After runner-up showings at the 2004 Masters and British Open, he tied for fourth at the 2004 PGA, finished third at the 2006 British Open and tied for fourth at the 2007 British Open.Woods, meanwhile, has won five majors across the past three years.But Els -- one of the media-concocted "Big Four," along with Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen -- still believes Woods can be beaten.Occasionally, anyway."You get your chances," Els said. "He's winning, and he is the greatest finisher of all time probably. Him and Jack Nicklaus. But you do get your chances."If you look at the match play (at last week's World Golf Championship event in Arizona), the guys had their chances. I had my chances to beat him in Dubai. And, basically, when your chances come, you have to grab it. We have to find a way to win."He thought back to his duels with Woods in the early 2000s."I remember when we were going head-to-head more often, maybe five or six years ago, and that's the one thing that stuck with me. That I didn't take my chances when they came. There's not too many, but you do get your chance."Els won't get a chance this week -- Woods isn't playing in The Honda -- but the soft-spoken South African is hoping to do something he hasn't done since 2004.Win on the PGA Tour."I need a win," he said. "I need to at least have two or three events really up there, really feeling the heat and knowing that I can pull off the shots under pressure. ... I haven't won too many tournaments the last couple of years."On a scale of one to 10, Els put his confidence level at seven and said, "I'd like to get it up to a nine by the end of the Florida Swing." So he has been working hard and plans to play in all four Florida events on his way to Augusta."It's a little tougher to win tournaments than it was 10 years ago," said Els, now 38. "The level of play is much better. There's a bigger group of really good players. And if you haven't won, it's quite a challenge. That's where I find myself right now."It's not like I'm playing terrible golf, but the results are not quite there. I don't want to say it's tougher to get your confidence back, but it's quite a journey."Even when Woods isn't there.(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@Scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)