Ernie Els has set his sights on becoming the world's greatest golfer within the next three years and he says he is prepared to dedicate himself to the task.
Unless Tiger Woods has an unexpected slump, Els will have to climb an Everest-like mountain to achieve his goal, but you can't fault him for aiming high.
"I am definitely refocused and dedicated," Els said Wednesday on the eve of the $5.3 million Chrysler Championship. "I've given myself a realistic goal for the next three years and that means I have to dedicate myself physically and mentally. It's good to have a clear goal I want to achieve in a couple of years, not a six-month goal or a two-month goal, because that's when I'm going to be my best.
"If you look at where the number one player is right now, you are not going to get near him in one or two years, so I've got to give myself a three-year stretch to try to approach him."
Els, 37, has a reputation for showing greater enthusiasm for lifting pints than weights, but he didn't get to where he is by being lazy. It may seem unrealistic to talk about catching Woods, but it's worth remembering that two years ago Els was arguably a better player, contending in all four majors, twice finishing runner-up, and finishing second on the PGA Tour money list.
But the disappointment of not winning a major in 2004 seemed to take a toll on Els, who was enduring a mediocre 2005, even before he suffered a ruptured ligament in his left knee in July that required surgery and kept him out of action for nearly five months.
He won in his comeback last December at the Dunhill Championship in South Africa, but has gone winless in 23 worldwide starts this year, despite several near misses, including playoff losses to Tiger Woods (Dubai Desert Classic) and Adam Scott (Singapore Open).
His putting has been sub-standard - he ranks 82nd on the PGA Tour in this category - but he claims that driving has also been a bigger problem, and that it has put a lot of pressure on the rest of his game. The statistics back him up, because he ranks a miserable 147th for total driving.
"I'm in much better shape than I was in my late 20s," said the South African, who was ranked No. 1 in the world for a total of nine weeks in 1997-98. "My swing has come a long way since that time also. I've had a couple of body blows, losing close tournaments, but when you get in contention, you are going to lose quite a bit, especially playing against Tiger.
"It's been a tough year, but it's not like I've fallen off the map completely. I just haven't been consistent. What's let me down is my putting and driving. Because I haven't driven the ball that well, I've put a lot of pressure on my putting."
Els is in unfamiliar territory going into this week's event at the Innisbrook Resort, 30th on the money list. Only the top 30 players on Sunday night qualify for next week's season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta, an event Els hasn't missed since 1998.
Els would like to play the Tour Championship, but his bigger goal this week is to win and secure a spot in January's Mercedes Championship, the season opener in Hawaii restricted to winners on tour the previous year.
"I want to start the year in Hawaii (because) all the years I have started there I've had good years," Els said Wednesday. "The only way I can get in is to win this week or next. That's what I'm focused on."
Els is part of an impressive field here that also includes fellow world top 10 players Adam Scott, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen.
Tom Lehman is also in action, focused on playing again after completing his Ryder Cup captaincy duties.
Lehman has given a lot of thought to why his American team was thumped by Europe last month, and one conclusion is that the Europeans were more aggressive, while the Americans, weaned on a steady diet of stroke play, too often played for a safe par.
"I watched the Europeans play," he said. "It was like 'there is the pin. I'm going for the pin. It's a chance for me to stick a dagger in them if I hit it close'."
And Lehman has offered the PGA of America some advice.
"The one recommendation I had was I think there needs to be a little more continuity in the whole system, so that you can learn from the mistakes," Lehman said. "Being captain, you get one crack at it. I think you learn a lot. Follow the European model, which has a Ryder Cup committee which includes their officials, plus former captains, so you can be building on the things you do right and eliminate the things you do wrong."
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