Ernie Els
There are those who argue Els lacks the killer instinct that defines Tiger Woods, but I don't buy it. Still, it's hard to argue with the critics who point out that Els came up short in four big Sundays a year ago — falling one shot shy of a playoff at the Masters and PGA, losing a playoff in the British Open, and shooting 80 in the final pairing of the U.S. Open, alongside eventual winner Retief Goosen. That being said, he's got great on-course composure and his shortcomings are only magnified by the fact he puts himself in contention so consistently.

Retief Goosen
The numbers would seem to indicate that he's a solid closer, having taken five 54-hole leads and turned them into four victories. But something about his makeup makes me think he's more likely to be the type of guy who'll start three or four shots back, light it up on Sunday, and leave the leaders scratching their heads, almost as if he lulled them to sleep. That's how he won the Tour Championship last fall. Goosen handles pressure, in my opinion, better than anyone not named Tiger.

Phil Mickelson
Hard to believe, but he's only had the 54-hole lead 10 times since 2000, an indictment of his roller-coaster style. The fact that he's won six of those 10 times is hardly a surprise, because with the left-hander, it's either hot or cold. Only twice since 2000 has he ranked inside the Top 20 in Sunday scoring average and in the back of your mind, you always wonder when he's going to come up with the high-risk, go-for-broke shot that lets him down. Then again, he played cautiously and low-risk golf head-to-head at Doral against Woods and came up short, so go figure.

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Vijay Singh
It's hard to be critical of a guy who has won 19 tournaments since 2002, but here's being critical: He's coughed away three wins already this season. He shot a fourth-round 74 to squander the Mercedes Championship in Week 1; he gagged over a 2 ½-footer to lose a Honda Classic playoff to Padraig Harrington a few weeks later; then the next week he was tied on the last hole at Bay Hill when he dumped an approach into the water and gift-wrapped it for Kenny Perry. There some impressive stare-downs in '04 — against John Daly, Woods, and Mike Weir — but you always get a little fidgety when he must make a shot, or, even worse, a putt.

Tiger Woods
Before 2004, he was a combination Sandy Lyle, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, and Bruce Sutter. You know, a bona fide, big-time, all-world closer. He had ridden 11 consecutive 54-hole leads to victory and 30 of 31? Then he got passed by Retief Goosen in the final round of the Tour Championship last fall, only months after having twice squandered leads at the Byron Nelson and Wachovia. Proof positive that the intimidation factor had diminished? Nonsense. He's still the best final-round player ever — victories at the Buick Invitational, Doral, Masters and British Open only reinforced that contention — and while he's not perfect when the heat's on, he's darn close to it. Consider that he's ranked no worse than 16th in fourth-round scoring average since 2000, once being No. 1, twice being No. 2.

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Part 8: Putting

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