Ernie Els has declared himself fully fit for his US Masters challenge as he tries to keep Tiger Woods off his mind and his bid for a career Grand Slam on track.
Els injured his wrist last month hitting a punch bag and, after trying to play through the pain barrier in the Bay Hill Invitational - where he finished 19 shots behind the winner Woods, he missed the last two US Tour events.
The South African has since been given the all-clear to resume competitive action and made a visit to Georgia last Thursday to get an early feel of the Augusta National course.
Now all he has to do is try and win his first green jacket on Sunday, in doing so preventing Woods claiming an unprecedented third in a row and taking a step closer to his own career Grand Slam.
Els has won two of the four major championships, his victory in The Open at Muirfield last year added to two victories in the US Open, and his ultimate goal is to add the Masters and USPGA titles to his collection.
Only five other players have achieved such a feat; Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and that man Woods.
It is the world number one's quest to be the first man ever to win three consecutive Masters titles which Els will have to block out of his mind when play gets under way at a wet Augusta National on Thursday.
"For a while there I think I went at it the wrong way," explained Els. "I played tournaments, played majors, against Tiger.
"And let's face it, Tiger is going to be there. So if you start playing Tiger on Thursday from the first tee, I think that's the wrong way to go about it.
"I think you're going to beat yourself up and not play your normal game.
"I was too focused on Tiger. My focus wasn't channelled in the right direction. It was more channelled towards players instead of to the golf course and the shots I have to play."
Working with Belgian sports psychologist Jos Vanstiphout has helped Els improve his approach to the game, culminating in his Open victory last year which Els believes was the start of the 'resurgence' in his game.
"What myself and Jos have been working on is to go out there and play the golf course," added Els. "Everybody's going to play the golf course.
"And if I, with my talent, play the golf course the way I should play it, I should be there on Sunday afternoon. And then it's a matter of just keep on doing what you're doing.
"At times I do it perfectly and other times sometimes you just can't help yourself, you get dragged into that old habit.
"You kick yourself afterwards, but it's such a demanding mental game we're playing.
"Sometimes you've got to go with how you feel on the day, your instincts. But I think it comes back down to discipline. You've got to be disciplined enough to go with what you have on that day."
As for the career Grand Slam, Els added: "That would be the ultimate goal. There's only five players that have done that.
"Watching the Masters on television when I was a boy you start to dream and I guess the main thing is not to let your dreams go. I still have those dreams.
"But the reality is that I'm 33 now, I'm not 23 anymore. But I still dream of my goals becoming reality and I'm not too far away from it."
Els has an excellent record at Augusta, missing the cut just once in nine appearances, with a worst finish of 27th in 1999.
The 33-year-old finished second behind Vijay Singh in 2000, and was in with a good chance last year until running up a triple-bogey eight on the 13th in the final round.
"Last year I was trying to chase," added Els, who began the last round four behind compatriot Retief Goosen and eventual winner Woods.
"I think I made a bogey on 10 or 11 and I was trying to get going again.
"I was really trying to get it around the corner on 13 and have a shot at eagle, but after the tee shot, I was dead. Then I just made mistake after mistake after that.
"I was trying to rectify it as quickly as I could and subsequently I got myself deeper in a hole."
The extremely wet conditions at Augusta this week will favour Els and the longer hitters, with Woods, Goosen and newly crowned Players champion Davis Love strongly fancied to challenge come Sunday.
And Els gave a final word on the subject of Woods' quest for three straight victories at Augusta, something only Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo have tried, and failed, to do.
"He's done so many amazing things," said Els. "It would just be another one. There's another 93 players out there, but he's probably got a very good chance of winning again.
"He's a great player and we've got a great tournament, a great golf course, and I'm just excited to play. I don't want to think about him winning three times - I would like to win my first one."
PA