Ernie Els says Presidents Cup players don’t fear Tiger Woods
Ernie Els has taken a cheeky swipe at Tiger Woods ahead of next weeks Presidents Cup, saying all the international players are eager play him because he isn’t as fearsome as he used to be.
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Gone are the days when every professional golfer would tremble just at the thought of going head to head against Tiger Woods.
Now, everyone’s lining up for the chance to try to tame the former world number one.
That’s created an unexpected dilemma for Ernie Els, the non-playing captain of the International team for next week’s Presidents Cup in Melbourne.
In years gone by, Els might have struggled to find someone willing to take on the American in the deciding singles, but now his biggest problem is choosing who gets to face him because even the rookies are asking for the job.
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“The youngsters look up at him, but they definitely want to have a piece of him,” Els said.
Els, who famously beat Woods on the last day to draw the 2003 Presidents Cup in South Africa, said the decision on who would face him in Melbourne would depend on the state of the match heading into the last day singles.
“Stay tuned,” Els said. “The pressure could be really high, depending on where that match up will be.
“If it’s going to be a crucial time it will be a different player that’s going to play Tiger.
“I will not put a guy in there that’s going to feel overwhelmed so I will go accordingly.”
Unthinkable when Woods was an unstoppable force on the golf course, Els even took a cheeky swipe at his rival skipper, saying he was no longer the player he once was even though he won a fifth green jacket at Augusta in April then equalled Sam Snead’s record of 82 PGA Tour titles in Tokyo in October.
“I don't think it’s the same kind of order like in the past, I think it’s a different kind of order,” Els said.
“It’s more of a, like he’s a celebrity kind of order and obviously, he’s very competitive, he’s won The Masters and won in Japan.
“When he’s healthy, he can play at a very high level, but consistently, he’s not what he used to be and that’s just what age does but we’ll see when we get there.
“I’ll analyse how the guys are playing and see who’s really got the look in the eye and then see accordingly how the guys are playing through the week.
“There are a lot of guys who have put their hands up to want to play Tiger, but there’s going to be a lot of discussion before we get to the singles.”