Tiger is making yet another comeback. Let’s talk about him. You are always portrayed as the guy with the most scar tissue from competing with him at his best. Do you look back and wish he had never existed? Or did he make you a better player?

I think it’s a bit of both. If he hadn’t been around I would probably have won at least eight majors. I had a head start on many guys early on. I felt like the best player back then.

That’s because you were. Was it hard to be relegated to second best? How hard was that?

Yeah. That made a big difference. I was always in his shadow, which was understandable. He was the biggest thing in the game by far. For at least 10 years it really felt like I was the ugly step-child. I was a big player, a really good player. But he was a bit better. So it was tough.

Looking back now, I feel proud that I played in that era. And I won four majors.

You are the only player who won a major before Tiger, during Tiger and after Tiger.

(laughs) That’s right. Exactly. I was right there. A lot of guys popped in now and then – David (Duval), Freddie (Couples), Vijay (Singh) – but it did seem like I was much more involved in the majors than anyone else. Apart from Tiger of course. I stepped up more than anyone else. More than Phil did anyway. Towards the end of Tiger’s best period, Phil did start to get some wins on him. But when we were all in our primes, I was the guy who faced up to him. I’m proud of that. Even if I didn’t get the number of wins I wanted. He was just phenomenal.

RIGHT: Tiger Woods and Ernie Els going heard to head at the NEC Invitational in 2002. PHOTO: Getty Images

What were the differences between you and him back then?

His ball-flight was the biggest thing. He could hit shots that I just couldn’t pull off. Not like he did. Where I would ‘feed’ the ball into greens from right-to-left, he had the massive high shot that would come down and stop almost immediately. I noticed that most at Hoylake in 2006. We played together there. The course was bone-hard. There were a couple of par-3s where I just couldn’t hold the greens. But his shots would. It was such a big difference. He just had that strong, high ball.

Our short games were similar. But boy could he putt. He made Jordan Spieth today look very ordinary. I would go so far as to say no one has ever putted as well as Tiger for as long as Tiger. He went for years without missing a putt that really mattered.

That’s what people forget. He didn’t win the US Open by 15 shots and the Open by eight with his long game. He did those things by holing everything.

Exactly. He made putts. I will never forget how good he was in that final round at Pebble Beach back in 2000. I was way behind but he was making everything. He holed maybe eight 30-footers. And he kept doing that week-in and week-out. The intensity was amazing. It was almost like he could make putts with his mind. I’ve never seen anything like that. It was kinda spooky really. I thought I was a good putter. But this guy was something else again. Phenomenal.

It must have been especially hard for you? You grew up being told you were going to be ‘the guy.” Then along came Tiger.

It did feel like that. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t have things too easy before Tiger. But when I found my stride – I was winning all over the world –  I felt like I was the guy to beat every week. In 1994 I won seven times. People forget that. I won a major too. It was like, ‘let’s’ go.’

Then in 1995 I had another good year. The same in 1996. Then in 1997 he won the Masters by 12 shots. Even though I won the US Open that year, it was like, ‘holy shit.’ He changed everything. And that was that.

What was your toughest loss? Augusta 2004, or Troon 2004? Or was it somewhere else?

The one that always gets me is the 1995 US PGA at Riviera. I had a three-shot lead going into the final round. But I was leaking oil all day. I hung in there though. And on the 16th I hit a 9-iron to about six feet. The putt horse-shoed out – the greens were terrible that week. That was the first time I thought to myself, “f***, that shouldn’t happen.”

Then I made a bogey on the 17th and finished two-shots out of the play-off between Colin Montgomerie and Steve Elkington. That really got to me. I was like, “s***, what was that?”

"Oh, that was horrendous. It was devastating. Absolutely devastating. I felt like I should have won. I was in total control from day one. All I had to do was make one putt over the last six holes..." - Ernie Els on his Open loss at Royal Troon

There was doubt suddenly?

I had never backed-off before. If I had the lead I always won. Always.

Then in the 1996 Open I dropped shots on the 16th and 18th in the final round. Both times by not hitting driver. And I am an aggressive player. I sat down afterwards and told Ricky (Roberts) my caddie we had to talk. I told him, “don’t ever f***ing pull me off when I want to hit driver.” He did that and made me hit 3-iron, which is not to say he was to blame. Ultimately, it was my decision.

Those two defeats hurt me early on. Then later, 2004 hurt a lot. So there were four majors I should have won. In fact, I could have won all four in 2004. That was tough. After 2004, I hurt my knee and I was never really the same player. It had a huge impact on my game. I’ve never really been able to get onto my left side. I still have good hands and can get around that, but I’ve never been the same player. Not really.

Agony and ecstacy: Els reacts to his Open loss to Todd Hamilton. PHOTO: Getty Images

The picture of you I have in my mind is on the last green at Troon in 2004. Todd Hamilton is just holing out to win. I’ve never seen anyone look as bereft as you did.

Oh, that was horrendous. It was devastating. Absolutely devastating. I felt like I should have won. I was in total control from day one. All I had to do was make one putt over the last six holes and Todd would have been gone. But I missed them all. I just couldn’t make a putt anywhere. And he was getting up-and-down from everywhere.

I didn’t handle that loss very well. I was supposed to go from Prestwick to the US that evening. But we changed plans and went to South Africa. I was there for two weeks just to get away.

Was it so hard to handle because you felt like you had beaten yourself? Whereas Phil beat you at Augusta.

Yeah. That’s the difference. I accepted the Masters. Phil shot 30 or something on the back-nine. Brilliant. Well done. I made peace with that pretty quickly. He beat me. But those others live with me still. I just didn’t finish them off.