‘Not Winning The Masters Will Forever Leave A Sour Taste In My Mouth’ – Ernie Els Opens Up On His Painful Augusta Near-Miss And Talks Career Mulligans

There’s no question Ernie Els is a Hall-of-Famer and an all-time golfing great, but some Majors narrowly escaped him, like The Masters in 2004…

Ernie Els is a legend of the game and one of the best and most elegant players to ever make a living as a professional golfer.

During his esteemed career, he won two Open Championships and two US Opens. In addition, he has more than 70 worldwide victories to his name, including 19 on the PGA Tour and 28 on the DP World Tour.

However, had things panned out slightly differently, the Big Easy could have ended his career with six or seven Major Championship titles, with his second-place finish at The Masters in 2004 the near-miss that hurts the most.

In this exclusive interview, Els recalls some of those agonising close calls and shares some of his favourite memories from his esteemed career…

Ernie Els at the Sanford International at Minnehaha Country Club — Ernie Els has won more than 70 worldwide titles

When would you like to have a mulligan for your career if you could?

Oh yeah, early on. Obviously 1994 was my breakout year winning the US Open at Oakmont. In 1995 I had another really good year going.

As it turned out, I never would win the US PGA Championship, but at Riviera that year, I led by three strokes going into the final round. I was playing really, really good golf that week.

I had an off day on that Sunday. And in terms of moments, I remember horseshoeing my putt out on the 16th hole, the par 3. And then I bogeyed 17, the par 5. You just can’t do that, and I ended up missing that play-off between Steve Elkington and Colin Montgomerie.

I still think back to that day and wonder. If I could have done better in that final round, I could have got that championship under my belt and things could have been a bit different for me.

The next year at The Open at Royal Lytham, I was making that big charge on Sunday and then I bogeyed 16 and 18 and Tom Lehman won that one.

In 2004, The Masters got away from me with Phil making that unbelievable putt on the last hole. I was also in the final group of The Open Championship when Todd Hamilton beat me at Royal Troon.

Also, at the PGA Championship again, on the final hole I hit a shot through the fairway and into an almost unplayable lie after a perfect drive and could only make a bogey there.

You know, there were definitely a couple that got away from me, but I feel very fortunate to have still won four Majors.

Is there any particular loss from 2004 that stung more than the others?

I think they all sting a little bit now that I think about it. A tournament I never won was The Masters. In 2004, I felt I was playing some of my best golf ever. I had a legitimate chance to win all four Majors.

Although 1994 was my breakthrough year, in 2004 I was in my prime. I was doing a lot of really good things with my mental and physical game. David Leadbetter had my swing going beautifully, I was hitting it far and was doing a lot of things very well.

But not winning The Masters, that will forever be a sour taste in my mouth. It’s such an amazing event with so much prestige and it means so much, but the better player won that day.

I finished second to Phil while playing one of my best rounds ever that Sunday [67], making really clutch putts and some birdies on the back nine. That really hurt.

phil mickelson 2004 masters — The iconic image of Phil Mickelson winning the 2004 Masters

At the US Open I just played a disastrous final day at Shinnecock Hills. That loss really hurt. My good friend Retief Goosen won.

At The Open Championship I felt I really should have won. Todd just stuck in there. I was waiting for him to go away and he just wouldn’t. I missed a few shots I think I should have made. I lost in that play-off to Todd.

I three-putted the last green of the US PGA Championship to miss out on a play-off too. That year really hurt me – it was a tough one to be so close and not get a Major.

Now on to your various triumphs. How do you reflect on your Major Championship wins and especially the first one at the 1994 US Open?

When I look back now, my Major wins were all very special. Majors define you so much over your career. The 1994 US Open was a battle. I messed it up on the 18th hole. I made big mistakes in the play-off. It was one of the toughest victories ever.

It took 92 holes. Looking back now, that win was very, very important because if I didn’t win that tournament, things could have turned out a lot differently in my career.

I was 24 at the time. Winning the US Open gave me a lifetime exemption on the European Tour and a ten-year exemption on the PGA Tour, which means a lot.