Els Haunted By Mercedes Championship

Thursday, January 11th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) â€” Ernie Els had reason to reflect during his practice round for the Mercedes Championship. As he walked off the first green, he wondered how differently 2000 could have gone had he â€” not Tiger Woods â€” won the playoff a year ago.

And he still wasn't sure how Woods made that winning putt, a 40-footer, downhill but into the grain, with 6 feet of break.

``I was kind of surprised that he made the putt, the way he made the putt,'' Els said. ``The ball was really going in at quite a speed.''

After returning to the green for the first time in a year, Els and caddie Neil Wallace looked at each other and ``kind of had a chuckle when we walked off the green.''

It wasn't a laughing matter last year. Els and Woods engaged in a slugfest in the final round, neither played leading by more than one stroke. They matched eagles on the 72nd hole and birdies on the first sudden-death playoff hole.

Woods finally ended it with that monster putt, his fifth PGA Tour victory in a row and the first of what would be nine tour victories in one of the greatest years ever in golf.

``Last year, if I won this championship, who knows? It could have been a little bit different,'' Els said. ``From here on, Tiger was just very dominant. He just got stronger and stronger as the year went by. I think about the putts he made here last year, the way he got himself out of trouble. It kind of set the scene.''

On Thursday, the year begins with a clean slate.

Woods will be trying to repeat a season that seems impossible to match â€” nine victories, $9.1 million, three straight majors, 17 out of 20 tournaments in the top 10, 47 consecutive rounds at par or better, a record scoring average.

Woods already is $1 million behind on the money list after not going to the Match Play Championship in Australia, which was won by Steve Stricker.

Els thinks he, Phil Mickelson, David Duval or anyone else up to the challenge can send a message early that Woods will have to work a little harder this time around. After all, Woods won five tournaments last year by at least four strokes.

``He really played us into a corner. He really dominated,'' Els said. ``When you have a guy dominate like that, sometimes it's hard to get back. And the only way to get back at him is to beat him early in the season and make him think about it.

``It really sends out a message that you're ready to play.''

Of course, Woods already has sent his own message. He is still refining his swing, still getting better and never gets tired of winning.

The season began Thursday in the $3.5 million Mercedes Championship, the winners-only tournament played on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, a hilly course that overlooks the rugged coastline on the west end of Maui.

``I'm excited about playing again,'' Woods said. ``Each and every year that I've played golf, I've become better.''

What will that mean? No one is quite sure, and not everyone wants to find out.

Woods won the U.S. Open by 15 strokes. He became the first man to finish at 19 under in a major championship (British Open). He had a 259 at Firestone to win the NEC Invitational by 11 strokes.

Better?

``How do you con yourself into believing he can do more than he did last year?'' Hal Sutton said. ``Some of his goals might be unrealistic. Some might be stretching it. But he's stretched it to the max enough times that people believe. More importantly, he believes it.''

Woods is not too concerned about 2000, the year in which he won the most tour events since Sam Snead, became the first player to win three straight majors since Ben Hogan, became the youngest man to complete the Grand Slam since Jack Nicklaus and shattered the scoring record set in 1945 by Byron Nelson.

Woods is always looking ahead, reflecting only on the tournaments where he played well. Still, he admits that improvement will not be as noticeable as the years go by.

``It's not as drastic as an 8-handicapper dropping down a few strokes,'' he said. ``It's not going to be that dramatic. It's going to be a little here and there, which means it's a shot or two a tournament. In the end, it means an awful lot.''

That's the challenge facing Els and the rest. They should keep in mind that the past six winners of the Mercedes Championship have never finished worse than fifth on the PGA Tour money list at the end of the year.

Catching Woods seems to be an impossible task, but Maui is a great place to start.

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