Or never experienced.

When Els was still a sprout of 12 in his native South Africa, he enjoyed butting noggins on the rugby field as much as he liked golf. One day, after Els played in a rough-and-tumble rugby match, an injured pinky required a doctor's attention.

Els' resourceful mom used the opportunity to hatch a conspiracy that saved her grief and eventually earned Theodore Ernest millions. She asked the doctor, a family acquaintance, to lie about the extent of the injury. Hippocrates be darned, the doc complied, grave tone and all. Ernie totally bought it.

"I told the doctor, 'Tell him it's serious,' " said Hattie Els as she watched her son play in the Bay Hill Invitational. "We figured that if we exaggerated, it would get his attention. I was afraid he was going to really be hurt."

For the fair-skinned Els, this was the freckled finger of fate.

Chased into the grip of golf by a bent pinky, we're fingering Els as the man to beat at Augusta National.

It's not exactly an outrageous pick, based on the past five months. Victories on four continents since last fall and a stellar record at the Masters make picking Els a big easy, so to speak.

Extend an index finger. As a favorite, Els is No. 1.

Even at beefed-up Augusta National, Els is plenty long enough off the tee and would rank first in putting if he'd played enough rounds to qualify -- and they haven't changed the greens a lick. Always a streaky player, Els thus has a hard time identifying a particular reason for the recent rejuvenation, but it's been years since he's had a comparable streak. This after enduring his first winless PGA Tour season since 1994, mind you.

"I've had my spells," he laughed.

Ten months ago, Els was at the other end of the spectrum, looking for answers and unable to define the questions.

During the middle of last year, Els kept hitting it elswhere.

There were several memorable low points, including a rocky week at the Bay Hill Invitational, when he rolled through three caddies in four days. After sacking his first looper, he used a teacher from Orlando's Leadbetter Academy in the second round. For the weekend, a caddie was flown in from South Africa.

"That was not a happy time," his mom said.

Nor was the U.S. Open, where Els played indifferently and finished tied for 66th in an event he had won in 1994 and '97. Els said afterward that he was burned out, bummed out and just plain out of sorts.

"It goes like that sometimes," he said. "Some guys hit their peak and other guys hit rock bottom. I was at rock bottom there. It's the nature of the game."

Like a Titleist, good players bounce when they hit the floor. First, Els was sidelined for four weeks by a sore back after the Open. During his time on the shelf, he began making subtle changes.

He started using a sports psychologist. He re-hired caddie Ricci Roberts, who had toted Els' bag when he won the two Open titles. And Els also began practicing with a purpose.

"I was just doing mindless practicing," he said. "I was just beating balls because I thought the more balls I'd hit, the quicker I'd get out of it."

You get out of it what you put into it, of course. Orlando's top swing instructor, David Leadbetter, has been Els' teacher for years and believes that Els doesn't necessarily work harder these days, just more efficiently.

"He's got a handle on what he needs to do, what he needs to work on," said Leadbetter, who began working with Els in 1989. "No matter how good the race car is, the engine still needs to be serviced."

The guy in the sidecar helps, too. Over the years, Roberts has heard everything Els has to offer and then some. Els might be nicknamed the Big Easy, but he concedes that his demeanor isn't as cool as fans might believe.

"I think the understanding between Ricci and myself is such that, when you say things on the golf course, you don't mean it personally and you don't sometimes mean it the way it comes out," Els said. "We've been very close for a long time and our relationship, if you want to call it that, is a little different than probably any of the guys out here. The chemistry is a little different."

Though Els' streak of seven consecutive years with a tour victory was snapped last year, he turned his game around down the stretch, finishing in a tie for third at the British Open, third at The International and losing in a playoff at the season-ending Tour Championship. During the PGA Tour's off-season, he won a team event in Japan with countryman Retief Goosen and piled up solo victories in two international events.

"I think Ernie was just going through a little bit of a low, generally," Goosen said. "I think he was just not quite psyched up for the game, I think because he wasn't playing too well and wasn't really keen on getting out there."

Els since has won in Japan, Australia, Africa and North America and owns the fourth-best scoring average in Masters history among players with at least three appearances. He has finished no worse than a tie for sixth in his past two trips to Augusta and has a total of six top-20 finishes since 1994.

In his memorable victory at the Genuity Championship at Doral in March, he fended off Woods, who started Sunday eight shots back and cut the margin to one stroke on the back nine. Apart from what it meant for his confidence, it rekindled a semi-dormant rivalry in which Els has battled Woods more frequently than any other player.

Woods has said privately only a couple of players are poised to threaten his reign. Els is one of the few.

"I think Ernie and I have probably gone down the stretch more times than any other player," Woods said. "I've got him a couple of times and he's got me a couple of times. I always like to get in a position where I can play him down the stretch again because it's a lot of fun."

Els relishes being a Tiger tamer.

"Last year, it was [Phil] Mickelson," Els said. "The year before, it was myself, and the year before that was probably David Duval. I figure this year it's me again."

Then again, some believe it was Woods who nudged Els into his 2001 funk. After all, Els played wonderfully in the 2000 U.S. and British opens, but finished a distant second to Woods' record-shattering finishes. He was second to Woods at the Mercedes and Memorial events, too.

"Whether he is subconsciously intimidated by Tiger, who knows?" Leadbetter said. "I don't think Ernie would know."

Els hit a different kind of wall late last month, when he finished in a tie for 44th at The Players Championship. He had played five consecutive weeks, all over the globe, and fatigue finally set in. In his two weeks off before the Masters, Els recharged in his traditional fashion.

"Ernie's nature is that, when he likes to relax, he likes to relax," Leadbetter said, grinning.

That's once thing Els hasn't changed since 2001 -- he can unwind quicker than the rubber-band core on an old range ball. Els recharged by flying to the Bahamas with his parents and family in tow.

"There's a golf course there," he said, laughing. "So you can keep it tuned."