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Ernie Els in top form heading to Shinnecock
Ernie Els is the man in form going into this week's U.S. Open and he feels he is ready to capture the fourth major championship of his career.
"It's a major, you want to come in, you want to feel that your game is where it should be to get yourself around the golf course," the South African told reporters at Shinnecock Hills on Tuesday.
"I've played a lot of golf leading up to this event. I've worked on my game, so it should be almost as good as it can get right now."
The tall South African has moved back up to number two in the world rankings following his victory at the Memorial Tournament two weeks ago.
Els has also picked up more wins than anyone else in 2004, with four worldwide, but he wants to continue pushing himself.
"I always like to put a bit of pressure on myself to try to push myself and try to get to a higher level," he said. "So I always feel that when I play in a major, I really need to be in contention over the weekend."
With two U.S. Open titles and am Open to his credit, Els was on course at the U.S. Masters in April to capture the third leg of a career grand slam.
Phil Mickelson, however, claimed the coveted Green Jacket and Els had to make do with second place.
The South African bounced back to win by four shots at the Memorial, with world number one Tiger Woods snapping at his heels on the front nine of the final round in Dublin, Ohio.
"The way I ended Memorial, obviously that's the way you want to win golf tournaments, playing good over a weekend," Els said.
"That was obviously a good confidence boost. But I would like to think that I can still get a lot better in this game."
Els's first major triumph came in a playoff at the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont.
Three years later at Congressional, he lifted the title again after finishing one stroke ahead of Briton Colin Montgomerie. In 2002, Els needed another playoff to capture the British Open at Muirfield.
In all, he has played in 47 major championships and has 21 times finished in the top 10.
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