ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- Nothing personal, mind you, but Ernie Els is tired of talking about Tiger Woods. The only thing worse is finishing behind him.
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| Tiger Woods had posted his 67 before Ernie Els teed off on Thursday. |
The two go together, of course, and Els knows there is but one way to change the topic of conversation: finish first.
He's already been a witness to history, playing beside Woods last month as he set the record for the largest margin of victory in a major championship at the U.S. Open.
Els was helpless as Woods cruised to a 15-shot victory at Pebble Beach, and the two-time major championship winner all but gushed about the performance.
But for what seemed like an eternity afterward, Els was peppered with questions about Woods. Is there an intimidation factor? Is it embarrassing? Is there anything you can do to catch up to Tiger? Do you have to play near perfect to beat him?
On and on and on.
"I don't want to ever have to do that again," Els said.
Els was in a much better frame of mind Thursday after his 6-under 66 at the Old Course was good for the first-round lead of the Open Championship.
A gentle breeze blew through St. Andrews, a lovely day for both spectators and competitors, and Els took advantage better than the rest. He even birdied the infamous Road Hole, which gives him a one-shot lead over You Know Who.
"If he beats me by 15 shots from now, there would be an inquiry," Els said.
Yet Els was hardly issuing any challenges. In fact, you wonder if he relishes the idea of getting in Woods' face and trying to do something about his dominance.
The game could use a rival for Woods, someone to stand up to him from time to time. All the greats had a foil. Snead had Hogan. Palmer had Player and Nicklaus who had Watson, Trevino and Miller, among others.
Tiger has ... who?
There have been several ill-fated attempts at manufacturing a rival for Woods. David Duval? It looked good last year when he won four times early in the year, but he hasn't won since. Sergio Garcia? His two victories in Europe hardly constitute a steady threat to Woods' throne.
Davis Love III? Phil Mickelson? Hal Sutton? Who?
Els is at least worth a look. Unlike the other players mentioned, he has two major titles, the 1994 and 1997 U.S. Opens. He's won all around the world. His game can appear effortless.
But he said something telling after that runner-up finish at the U.S. Open, when he was still marveling at Woods' performance.
"He's so focused every time. That hunger for winning ... it's there every week," he said. "To be honest with you, I don't feel like that every week when I'm playing. He's just different."
If his attitude has changed, he isn't saying so.
"Quite a few players can step up and be the rival, whatever you want to call it," Els said. "I don't look at it that way. I want to play as good as I can. And when I play well, I'm probably going to play with Tiger because he plays at that level every week. ... I just want to go out there and play my tournament and play as good as I can."
Feeling pretty good about himself after winning the Loch Lomond on Saturday in Glasgow, Els came into the Open a strong contender.
Then he started following the action on television Thursday morning to get a feel for the benign conditions, to see where the pins were located. Before long, he saw Woods making a move, bolting to the top of the leaderboard.
His peg was not even in the ground on the first tee, and he trailed Woods by five.
"You know you have your work cut out," Els said. "I'm happy I played well."
So far, he's met the challenge. Can Els keep it up? Like it or not, Ernie, it will be the subject of conversation.
Bob Harig, who covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, writes a column every Tuesday for ESPN Golf Online.
Ernie Els is feeling confident.