Michaux: 67 puts Els in position to slay Masters demons

Ernie Els settled into the chair and looked around the interview room that was both familiar and foreign.

“Haven’t been in here for a while,” the 45-year-old South African said.

Els may be “getting a little on now,” but he delivered a Masters first round unlike anything in his 21 years coming to Augusta. In 20 previous starts that include 11 finishes of 18th or better, Els had never broken 70 on a Thursday. He shot 5-under 67 to sit tied for second, three shots behind Jordan Spieth.

“There’s been no sign of any form,” he said with a laugh. “So it’s just been very special.”

Els has a scarred history with Augusta National. He’s been dying small deaths here for as long as Spieth has been alive. He tied for eighth in his 1994 debut – nine months after Spieth was born.

In 2000, Vijay Singh held off Els’ faltering Sunday charge. But it was 2004 that cut him to the core, with a dagger delivered by Phil Mickelson on the 72nd hole while Els was waiting for a playoff on the putting green.

That painful runner-up finish marked the last of five consecutive top-five Augusta finishes, and Els hasn’t contended in the decade since. He admits the hangover from 2004 lingered for years.

“I was trying to wipe it under the carpet that I wanted this one so badly for so many years,” he said Thursday. “Definitely, there was something going on. Kind of, you get fed up with yourself. Never with Augusta, you know, but yourself with the mistakes that you make. I kind of doubt … not doubted, but I felt that I left shots out there in that span, that five-, six-year span. So a little frustration set in there, yeah.”

That embedded frustration was never more visible than in 2010, when Els came to Augusta close on the heels of consecutive wins at Doral and Bay Hill. Three rounds into a T18 week, the hulking Els slumped against the door jamb to the locker room and opened a vein to a pair of reporters.

“I tell you, it’s killing me,” he said repeatedly of his fates at the Masters.

“You put so much in and it’s almost like you’re playing and you’re waiting for the fall,” he continued. “Some­where down the line something is going to happen that’s not good. I’ve had too many of those experiences. It’s one of those tournaments. At least other majors we play different venues. So you’re not going to go back to the same holes, and go, ‘Oh … two years ago I did this there.’ That’s the thing.

“If it’s not going to happen, it’s not going to happen. What can you do? I’m just beating my head against the wall every time. … It’s done it to a bunch of people, and I’m probably one of them. I mean, go down the list – Weis­kopf, Norman, Miller and many, many others. It’ll be something that’s a huge void in my career, but if I’m not going to do it, I’m not going to do it. I can’t worry about this … anymore. I’m serious. I’m killing myself and I don’t want to do it anymore.”

Reminded of that conversation Thursday, Els offered the perspective that five years have given him.

“I was maybe in a very different place back in 2010,” he said. “I think there was a lot of stuff bothering me inside.”

At 45 and a devoted father to his autistic son, Ben, Els is indeed in a different place. He returned to the Masters two years ago after not qualifying in 2012 – three months before winning the British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. With a five-year exemption that runs through 2017, he now stops to smell the azaleas and even enjoys the Par-3 Contest with his family.

“There’s definitely a different kind of mindset in the whole family coming up here,” he said. “It’s more of an enjoyment. We kind of are running out of time a little bit here, so we are really trying to enjoy what we’ve got left out here. You know, it’s been 21 years coming to Augusta. It’s been unbelievable, but nothing lasts forever. Samantha (his daughter) had a great time at the Par-3, and I just have a different appreciation I think for the place.”

Of course, winning the Masters brings a lifetime exemption – one that once seemed Els’ destiny. As a rookie in 1994, he played with Ben Crenshaw in the second round and shot 67.

“He was so gracious, so nice, and said, ‘You know, you’re going to win this tournament if you keep putting like that,’” Els said of Crenshaw.

Now 21 years later, its a 21-year-old kid who stands above Els and three others in second place.

In 1993, a month before Spieth was born, Els posted his first top-10 finish at the U.S. Open in Baltusrol, a year before winning his first major at Oakmont. At Baltusrol, Els played with 48-year-old Hale Irwin in the third round. The parallel to his current situation is not lost on him.

“It is absolutely crazy,” Els said. “I was 23 standing on the tee with a Hall of Famer who doesn’t know who the hell I am. (Irwin) was like the age I am now and I was like a young Jordan Spieth. I’m the old guy now.”

The old guy, however, can still play. Just three years removed from his fourth career major, Els knows he’s still capable of achieving great things on the biggest stages – even one that has tormented him so much.

“Well, that’s the plan, so we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I think it’s well documented that I still feel like I get something out of it. But, you know, these guys are good. I’ve got a lot of talent, but you’ve got to get the most out of it now. We’re running out of time. But I’ll be up for it.”