John Rawling: 'the Kid With the Sunny Smile Has Finally Got Real'

Sergio Leone could not have directed this screen play any better. For longer than most can remember, Mr Woods has had it his way. Others have had their moments, but the one they call Tiger is the top gun, the best shot in town. And, in the most heated battles of all, he has been the one head and shoulders above the rest. Until now.

Mr Els, the nice kid with the sunny smile, has suddenly got real. A little nasty, maybe. He is not exactly chewing on the cheroot and gobbing into the nearest spittoon, but gentle Ernie has a new belief and is ready to test the Tiger. Now, the townsfolk are gathering to see the fun when the shooting starts.

This week, the two best golfers in the world line up in the same tournament for the first time in 2003, at the Accenture World Match Play Championship as the build-up begins in earnest for the Masters, where Woods will be trying to win an unprecedented third title in consecutive years.

Normally, all the talk would be of Woods, especially since he returned from surgery to remove a cyst from his knee to win the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines last week, so impressively that some of those left scrabbling in his wake may have been tempted to ask for Tiger's trouser leg to be rolled up to check for evidence of the operation.

"He looked like he had been playing for weeks in a row," said Brad Faxon, who played alongside Woods in the final round. "Every part of his game was on. It was hard to imagine anyone playing any better."

But this time, the US Tour waits with a genuine fascination to see if Els can continue his astonishing run of form, which almost makes you suspect this South African-born Wentworth resident has sold his soul to the devil in return for an endless supply of birdies. Five wins in six tournaments, 100 under par, £1.57m in the bank this year... Old Nick himself would be pleased with that little return.

Whatever the truth, it is as if Els has found the secret. In typically understated manner, after sweeping to victory with a four-round total of 259 (ye Gods!) at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth, he admitted: "That is some of the best golf I have ever played." Heaven help the rest when he actually hits what he considers "the best".

So, at long last, golf has a heavyweight rivalry. If Els can keep his head together when Woods is in the field, and reproduce his best, golf could be about to enter a golden age. In other eras, Ben Hogan vied for supremacy with Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus was one of the big three with Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, and then sought to repel Tom Watson. All golf fans recall Nicklaus and Watson locked in combat in the Open at Turnberry in 1977, or Nick Faldo and Greg Norman in the 1996 Masters, and then fervently hope Woods and Els might produce something similar this year.

There were writers who got a little sniffy a couple of years ago when Nicklaus spoke about Woods. After conceding the tyro was playing on a different planet, old Jack went on to say it was a shame the world No1 was winning tournaments without being challenged by the rest of the field. "In my day, I had to beat . . ." said Jack, producing a list of names, and his critics lined up to say, "Ah ah, sour grapes. Old champion can't stand to give proper credit to the main man of the new generation."

But Nicklaus was probably wishing, as he spoke, that he could be a master of time travel, and that he could test the game he played as a young man against the seemingly untouchable Woods. And somehow you knew, Nicklaus would have given Woods all the trouble he needed, and golf would have been the winner as the two men matched their skills.

Somehow, I doubt that Woods and Els will have their day of reckoning this week at the La Costa resort in California, where they are seeded one and two. The accommodation may be wonderful, but the course is not sufficiently demanding to sort the wheat from the chaff. The latest US Tour statistics show 178 players average in excess of 300 yards with their drive, meaning easier courses, such as La Costa, can be devoured by too many lesser lights with an ability to muscle their way into wide open spaces.

Woods did make the final in 2000, where he lost over 36 holes to Darren Clarke, but he makes no secret of his belief that the matchplay format does his game no favours, while Els has also achieved little in the event.

Last year, TV viewing figures for the final between the journeymen pros Kevin Sutherland and Scott McCarron were unimpressive. Familiar faces sell shows and advertising and, well though Sutherland and McCarron may have played, Johnny six-pack couch potato found better things to do.

In all probability it will be an outsider who triumphs again, while Woods and Els are left to hone their best golf for the Players Championship at Sawgrass from March 27-30, frequently referred to as the fifth major, and for Augusta and the Masters.

I, for one, will be rooting for Els, not because Woods spits as frequently and copiously on the course as most marathon racers, though that would be a good reason, nor because the American disrespected the excitement and traditions of the Ryder Cup which brought so much pleasure to millions who watched the great European victory at the Belfry. It is because, deep down, no matter how brilliantly Els has been scoring and playing, my natural inclination is towards the underdog.

Els has been winning his tournaments while Woods has been injured. Nick Faldo says: "Ernie will make Tiger think, and that's fantastic for the game." And the retiring US Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange adds: "Ernie's knock has been 'does he have the get up and go?' If there's ever a time, it might be now." But I wonder.

Ernie was quoted, after his win in Perth, saying: "It's not just me against Tiger, or Tiger against me. It's us against the golf course and us trying to win tournaments."

It sounds great in theory, but Els has admitted to an inferiority complex about Woods, and there has to be a chance the old doubts will surface when the crunch comes.

Sergio Leone did not make his spaghetti westerns on the basis of people playing the course. It was all about man against man, eyeball to eyeball. Both would pull the trigger, and one would fall. That is why the townsfolk are gathering for the show which golf very badly needs. There can only be one man at the top. I hope I'm wrong, because Ernie has a golf game to die for, but when the dust settles at the end of the year my guess is that Tiger will be left standing.

Durham's Paul Collingwood was rightly proud of the part he played in England's defeat of Pakistan, one which keeps alive hopes of qualification for the Super Six phase of the World Cup. He is the sort of battler who thrives on pressure and his innings of 66 not out was exemplary as he helped his country towards a match-winning total.

But, worthy though England's win was, is it right that key matches should be day-night affairs, when winning the toss becomes such a decisive factor? The swing and movement afforded the England seam bowlers under the floodlights was more akin to a damp afternoon at Headingley than an international in South Africa. The World Cup should be played on a level playing field and, with day-night matches, that is simply not the case.

Mike Tyson's 49-second win over Clifford Etienne showed little, apart from the fact that the old lunatic continues to profit handsomely from his notoriety. His pay equates to something just short of $10,000 (£6,264) for every second the fight lasted. Thank goodness boxing's image might be restored a little by events in Las Vegas on Saturday when Roy Jones, the undisputed world light-heavyweight champion, attempts to beat the World Boxing Association heavyweight title holder John Ruiz.

Jones has been the finest boxer in the world for more than a decade, but it would be an extraordinary achievement if he were to win against Ruiz, who is about four inches taller and three stones heavier. Jones gets more than twice the purse paid to Tyson, which perhaps proves there is still some justice in the sport.

Watching Manchester United's 2-1 win against Juventus at Old Trafford, it was interesting to witness at first hand the extent to which the crowd has turned on their one-time darling Ryan Giggs. If Liverpool prevail in Sunday's Worthington Cup final, and Giggs plays badly once more, the abusive rumblings will rise to a crescendo. Internazionale are monitoring the situation, and the time may be fast approaching when a Giggs move to Italy might be the best for all parties concerned.

Europe's 60 metres champion Jason Gardner was evidently unimpressed with his British rival Dwain Chambers boldly announcing at a press conference his intention to become the world No1 sprinter this year, and how he can run a world-record 9.65sec for the 100m. After Chambers embarrassingly failed to reach the final of the 60m at the Norwich Union grand prix in Birmingham, Gardner won in a time only three one hundredths of a second outside his own European record and observed tartly: "Some people like to talk to the media about what they will do. I prefer to do my talking on the track."

All of which sets the scene for some good old-fashioned needle at the World Indoor Championships from March 14-16.