If anyone is to legitimately pursue Tiger Woods to be the greatest golfer on the planet, then Ernie Els - demonstrating that actions speak considerably louder than words - has thrown down the most obvious marker.

In winning the US Tour's season-opening Mercedes Championship in Hawaii, the 33-year-old South African has started the new season the way he finished the old one and, immediately, has overhauled Phil Mickelson to become number two in the official world rankings.

On the last three occasions in which Els has teed-it up in competition, he has won.

Firstly, he claimed the World Matchplay at Wentworth (an unofficial tournament); then, he took the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City (another unofficial tournament, but one with a $2 million winner's cheque) and now, perhaps most pertinently, he has claimed the Mercedes in record-breaking fashion, giving him the top spot for the first time in his career on the US Tour's moneylist.

It was Els's eighth win worldwide in the past 13 months, but the most emphatic - his 72-holes total of 31-under-par 261 giving him a new US Tour scoring record. The previous record in relation to par was set by John Huston at the 1998 Hawaiian Open and equalled by Mark Calcavecchia two years ago in the Phoenix Open.

After his win in Sun City in November, Els opined that he was finally ready to set off in pursuit of Woods. However, the win in Hawaii - even with the absence of Woods, who is recovering from knee surgery - which came against other tournament winners from last year makes the most valid case for Els, the British Open champion, to be Woods's most legitimate challenger. He has returned to the world number two spot for the first time since February 2001, but seems certain to copper-fasten that position over the next few weeks.

"I'm not trying to send out a message to anyone," insisted Els. "I'm just trying to prove to myself that I can play well, just keep improving on the things that I'm working on. You know, on the mental side of the game, on the physical side of the game. I'm just trying to improve. Let's see where it takes me. I've just got to keep working, to keep my discipline."

Now that Els has got the little man off his shoulder - something he referred to after his British Open win at Muirfield, the third major of his career - he has become a more awesome proposition.

And, certainly Rocco Mediate, who finished in second place some eight shots behind Els in Hawaii, is in no doubt that there is the making of a genuine rivalry between Woods and Els, something along the lines of the John McEnroe/Jimmy Connors rivalry that existed in tennis.

"I don't see a problem with Ernie challenging Tiger for the next how many years he wants to have it happen," claimed Mediate. "I think Tiger would love that to happen. He likes to be pushed."

Mediate insisted there were no chinks in Els's armour.

"Ernie doesn't miss anything. He is not missing any part of his game. What is he bad at? Nothing. I mean, he drives it 400 yards, chips and putts as well as anybody on the planet and he is a good iron player."

These are things that Els, though, has not always put into practice. Known as "The Big Easy", there has sometimes been the inclination that he has underachieved and that he was too laid back. However, since finally getting his hands on the Claret Jug as British Open champion, and the birth of his second child towards the end of last season, Els appears to have developed a new hunger and a new work ethic.

"I just got to keep grinding," he said, "to keep working, to keep my discipline and to keep improving. Tiger is doing the same."

Woods is so far ahead in the world rankings, however, that it would take a serious decline from the world number one over a sustained period for anyone to overhaul him. It is unlikely to happen and, if it does, it can't happen for a number of years because of the way the rankings is structured. A more meaningful aim for Els would be to go after the US Tour Order of Merit title.

"I wouldn't say it is a goal," said Els, who also plays in this week's Sony Open in Hawaii, "but it is realistic. I just want to win tournaments when I play, and to play really well in the majors."

Els, who is an honorary lifetime member of the European Tour, is also different from most of those chasing the US Tour money title in that he plays a sufficient number of tournaments in Europe - he finished third behind Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington last year - to also pursue that Order of Merit. He is due to open his European Tour campaign in the Singapore Open next week. Consequently, he can often find himself between a rock and a hard place in determining his itinerary when trying to please two masters.

With Woods laid up however, and unlikely to reappear for another month, this moment in time belongs to Els. For a man who has a wine - Engelbrecht-Els - in his homeland called after him, it would also seem the player is also maturing with age.