LONDON, 6 October 2004 — After being a frustrated ‘nearly man’ at this year’s majors, Ernie Els plans to make the most of a near-perfect finish to the 2004 season.
The popular South African won his first World Golf Championship title at the WGC-American Express Championship in Ireland on Sunday, replacing Tiger Woods as the game’s second-ranked player in the process.
He also took over from Woods at No. 3 in the US PGA Tour money list while strengthening his grip at the top of the European Tour’s order of merit, where his earnings are a record 3,368,121 euros ($4.13 million) for a single season. Most significantly, though, Els regained confidence after failing to win a major this year despite contending in all four.
Following his fourth victory of 2004, the three-times major winner has dedicated himself to refining his career goals and is looking forward to one of his favorite segments in the annual golfing calendar.
“I always enjoy this time of year, because it’s got some of my favorite tournaments,” he said on his official website. “This week’s Dunhill Links Championship is one of them.
“It’s played on three great links courses: the Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. And I get to team up with my dad, which is something we both really look forward to. “Last year, my dad and I came close to winning the team event, plus I only just missed out on winning the main event. Hopefully we can go one better this year.”
Els tees off in the opening round of the $5 million Dunhill Links Championship on Thursday, when he will be vying with world No. 1 Vijay Singh for one of the biggest prizes in European golf. Adding further spice to their duel is the fact that the smooth-swinging South African has targeted Fijian Singh’s status as the game’s leading player.
