Ernie Els on Wednesday gave new world number one Lee Westwood some simple advice to silence those who question his place at the top of the golf rankings: win a Major. Westwood has said he is sick of being asked about his failure to win one of the big four championships after critics queried his right to be considered world number one. Three-time Major winner Els, himself a former number one, said he had some sympathy for Westwood, but there was only one thing the Englishman could do to shut the naysayers up. “Win a Major. Get the monkey off your back. That’s the only one, and nobody needs to tell him that — he knows that,” said Els, who is in the lineup for the $3.2 million Ballantine’s Championship at Blackstone Golf Club near Seoul.
Els topped the world rankings for a total of nine weeks in 1997 and 1998 and said he too endured critics saying he was not a worthy number one — though he already had a US Open title under his belt. “I remember when I was number one, I got stick for it because people said the same about me, that I wasn’t doing enough, though I had won a Major,” he said. “It’s something that’s going to stick with Lee — you guys (reporters) are going to keep asking the question. Me personally, I think he’s done enough.” Westwood spent 17 weeks at number one from last November before being overtaken by Germany’s Martin Kaymer in February. A win at the Indonesia Masters on Sunday took Westwood back to the top, though he had to rely on countryman Luke Donald slipping up at the US PGA Heritage tournament. AFP
