There's no one better than Ben on the greens here at Augusta, probably him, Tiger (Woods) and Phil (Mickelson). I think Ben still may be even better than Tiger on the greens.

That's what they have done at Augusta.

[What else is there for Els to do? He finally caught Tiger, but he's still not No. 1. That must seem weird to him, too. So now he has set his sights on the career Grand Slam (he already has won the U.S. and British Opens) and Vijay Singh.] I think the game is on, ... Vijay has won eight times this year; I've won four. So it's interesting.

[A 66 at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in the 1996 British Open convinced Woods he was ready, and Els was the first person he told. (The secret was kept for a month, until Tiger had collected his third Amateur title.) Ernie tied for second at Lytham, Woods for 22nd (low amateur), so their presence was required at Tom Lehman's crowning. Afterward, in the clubhouse bar, they had a beer.] I don't have to tell you, ... you're more than good enough to be playing out here.

Tiger was clever enough, when he got the ball rolling in 1997, to step on the gas. It was a blow that kind of stopped me. I basically lost two years of conditioning and a lot of confidence. When I gathered myself, the mistake I and some other top players made was looking at Tiger and saying, 'All right, now I'm going to challenge.' But he had passed us. We weren't in his league. When I realized that, I wasn't sure where I needed to start. I'd say 'OK, I'm going to hit balls now,' and I'd hit balls for six hours thinking that's how I'd get better. But that didn't do it. Then I began to think about my attitude, and Jos was there to refresh me. I think he's gotten me closer to Tiger. And now I think a lot of players are realizing what they really have to do to compete and get better.

I played with Tiger [Woods], and I probably felt like you would be out there with me. Tiger is getting it by me about 50 or 60 yards, so it makes you inferior with your ability to hit the ball.