It’s not a secret that Tiger Woods is one of the most valuable players in golf. But what makes him special? What made him stand out from all those who played with him in his prime era? 

“There’s a lot of things,” South African professional golfer Ernie Els said. “But the one real factor was his intensity on the first tee.”  The PGA Tour player talked about what he thought differentiated Woods from others in the GOLF’s Subpar podcast. 

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Ernie Els on his experience playing with Tiger Woods

According to Els, the golfers consider the first few holes in round 1 in any tournament as a testing time. And they get into the game and try to make the score an even par or a 1-under after No. 4 or 5. However, Woods was different. 

“On the first tee he was ready to go,” Els said about Woods. “He wasn’t there to mess around,” the 4-time major winner added. “He didn’t play too many events, but when he played, he was ready to go.”

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Born in 1969, Ernie Els became a professional golfer when he was 20 and joined the PGA Tour in 1994, two years before Woods. Notably, he won his first major, the U. S. Championship, in his Tour Rookie year. Moreover, he has won 19 PGA titles, which includes 4 majors. 

Els has played with and against the 2019 Masters champion in the same grouping in 20 PGA Tour tournaments.  Furthermore, he was Team International’s captain for the 2019 Presidents Cup, which lost against Team America that Woods led. Hence, he understands Woods’ game like his own. 

Has Els ever beaten Woods in a PGA Tour event? 

Els played in the PGA Tour regularly until 2018 before concentrating on the PGA Tour Champions. He played in the same event as Woods 213 times in that time and managed to win 10 titles. Notably, Woods had won 52 times in those 213 events. 

Woods always had the upper hand when he and Els played together. The 2019 President Cup was Els’ final way to get back to him; however, the South African golfer couldn’t beat the legend.

According to Els, Tiger Woods played the first holes of every tournament with the same intensity as the last one. And that is what makes him stand out from the rest of his colleagues.

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