Els keen to get back to closing deals

Philip Reidtalks to the world number four who believes he is striking the ball well at present

For a player still ranked fourth in world, the intimidation factor Ernie Els once held going into a major has gone. These days, the man styled "The Big Easy" for his languid swing, but a moniker he dislikes, is struggling to rediscover the killer instinct that enabled him to close out the deal in three majors.

But, increasingly, it is a distant memory. Els's last major win came in the British Open at Muirfield in 2002 - where he emerged from a four-man play-off that had Thomas Levet as his ultimate challenger after Stuart Appleby and Steve Elkington initially fell by the wayside - when he added the Claret Jug to the US Open wins of 1994 and 1997.

And, this season, his form has been sporadic. Early on in the year, it looked as if the old Els had returned and finally gotten over the knee injury that ruined much of 2005. A run of first-third-second in the South African Open, the Qatar Masters and the Dubai Desert Classic indicated he was well and truly back on course to add to his majors haul. But it hasn't worked out that way, and his fourth-place finish behind Padraig Harrington at Carnoustie represented his best display in this season's majors.

Does he feel like he's getting back to the point where he was prior to the knee injury? "I'm working on it obviously. Somewhere there's been a bit of a dip in confidence and it's been tough to get it back to the level where I want to get it back to. At times, I've played some wonderful rounds of golf, but I haven't quite closed the deal, so to speak, in a lot of the tournaments."

Els added: "Seems like I've been on better form outside of the US, don't ask me why. I've always enjoyed playing over here in the US, but for some reason, it's not quite happening for me at the moment.

"At the moment I'm striking the ball really well. I struck it really well last week in Akron, just found it a bit difficult on the greens here and there.

"But, you know, I'm playing good golf. I feel like I'm striking it well, and I'm just trying to enjoy it a bit more. The British Open, it was very close call for me. On paper I was two shots away, but I was right there in the mix of things, and I didn't quite close it. But I've got to take positives out of all those and take it to this week. It's my final chance of winning a major (in 2007), and I know it will be very, very difficult, but I just want to try and give myself a chance."

While he did get into a challenging position without, as he put it himself, closing the deal at Carnoustie, his performances in the other two majors this season left a lot to be desired: 66th at the Masters and 51st at the US Open.

Still, if he can rekindle the spirit of old and the ability to finish off a tournament, Els could yet have a big say in the destination of the Wanamaker Trophy come Sunday. His last four appearances on tour have seen him finish seventh in the BMW in Munich, third in the Barclays Scottish Open, fourth in the British Open and a disappointing 22nd last week in Bridgestone.

Now, if he can only transport that form in Europe across the Atlantic.