WHEN Ernie Els last played in the Murphy's Irish Open in 1994, the lad wasn't quite himself. Perhaps it was the daunting presence of John Daly. Or it could have been the strain of attempting to succeed where distinguished predecessors such as Payne Stewart, Curtis Strange and David Graham had failed in attempting to add the Irish title to the US Open crown.

Whatever the reason, the South African was led into conflict with the European Tour, incurring a fine of £250 for failure to show up at the pro-am prize giving. On this occasion, however, there is no serious rival to Els as the main attraction when Ireland's premier tournament moves to Druids Glen next week.

He comes here having finished fifth in the US Open at Oakland Hills where a second round of 67 swept him into contention for a second victory in three years. There were more thrilling images, however, from the previous week at Westchester, where the design of his shirt caused him to be hailed as a "Star in Stripes."

His achievement had been in winning the Buick Classic by the third largest margin over the last 20 years on the USPGA Tour. Even committed American fans were prepared to admit that the eight stroke gap could have been appreciably greater had Els not eased up noticeably over the closing holes. It was a performance that ranked alongside Greg Norman's dominance at Doral in 1993 and in the Players' Championship the following year and with Nick Price's stroll to the 1994 USPGA Championship at Southern Hills.

After three rounds at Westchester, Els had a six stroke lead over second placed Tim Herron. The gap had an ominous ring to it as observers remembered dramatic events in April, when a lead of that proportion had been squandered during the final round of the US Masters at Augusta National.

"I thought about it," admitted Els in a reference to Norman's disaster. "Even with a six shot lead, anything can happen. It was more of a mental game. I didn't want to screw things up.

His concern was understandable, given the so so year he was having at that stage. Granted, it had started with victory in the South African Open which he had previously won in 1992 but it seemed that he was still fighting to cope with the aftermath of his 1994 US Open win. He clearly wasn't pleased to have lost a three stroke lead after the third round of last year's USPGA Championship at Riviera. And a week before Westchester, he had tied Tom Watson for the lead in the Memorial after the opening hole of the final round.

On the other hand there had been much to be pleased about in between. Like the Toyota World Matchplay Championship at Wentworth on October 15th last year when, two days before his 26th birthday, he became the first player to successfully defend the title since Seve Ballesteros in 1985.

Apart from a cheque for £170,000, it meant a move to number two in the Sony World Rankings. "I'd like to be number one some day, but I don't think I'm quite there yet," said Els. Then he mused: "I would love to win the World Matchplay five times like Gary Player and Seve, but there are some great players around and I'm still learning."

On hearing those sort of remarks, the natural reaction of his rivals would be the fervent hope that Els doesn't rush the learning process. So much has come to him so quickly that it has prompted a profound sense of inferiority in all but the most confident of practitioners. It is also unsettling to witness an innate modesty that belies his natural gift for observation, for absorbing the nuances involved in competition at the highest level.

While in the process of leading the South African Order of Merit for a second successive year, he became in 1992 the only competitor to match Player's achievement of capturing the South African Open, PGA and Masters championships in the same season. Player had been 43 when he did it: Els was 22.

In the 1993 British Open at Royal St George's, he became the first player in the illustrious history of that event to complete four sub 70 rounds. Small matter that the winner, Norman, emulated the achievement minutes later. And the Shark was also present the following January when Els won his first European Tour event in Dubai, spreadeagling the field with a stunning 61 before beating Norman by six strokes.

Having witnessed the South African's strengths - his power off the tee and delicate touch around the greens - Norman also noted his tendency towards a wild hook with the driver. And he offered this assessment: "Anyone can be a major winner if he's got it in his heart. But you've got to go to the next level and that means a lot more pressure and a lot of outside agencies. Is Ernie willing to sacrifice the time and effort needed to make it to the next level? I think he is strong enough, long enough and good enough."

Another admirer, Nick Price, said: "Els has got all the ingredients. He has already shown he has big match temperament and I think he can win any tournament he tees up in. It won't surprise me if his next big win is a major championship. Five months later, the young man with all the talents, had vindicated the soundness of these judgments. At 24, he matched another Player achievement by capturing the US Open at Oakmont in a play off with Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts.

"I don't see any flaws in his swing," commented John Jacobs, one of the world's most respected golf coaches. "There isn't a hint of tilting which causes the body to interfere with the turn. Instead, he gets plenty of turn but he also has a wonderful rhythm which means he is never struggling for distance."

Jacobs went on: "Under pressure, he has a tendency to hook the ball but he has learned a lot since that damaging shot on the 72nd at Oakmont. Many lesser players have resorted to a controlled fade to counter this, but Ernie hasn't gone down that route. He is the hottest property in the game and the young player around at the moment that I would expect to achieve most."

After his success at Oakmont, it was inevitable that Els would choose to compete full time on the USPGA Tour. So, from one tournament appearance there in 1990 and one more in 1991, followed by three in 1992 when he missed the cut in his USPGA Championship debut, Els progressed from six in 1993 to 11 a year later. Then came a full programme of 18 tournaments last season, including victory in the Byron Nelson Classic.

AS had happened at Dubai at the start of the previous year, Els produced a sparkling 61, this time in the second round. And a 72 hole aggregate of 263 - 17 under par gave him victory by three strokes over three players sharing second place.

Now, all the important milestones had been passed he had gained his first major; his first regular win on the European Tour; his first regular win on the US Tour and, as a bonus, there was confirmation of his matchplay talents at Wentworth.

Yet he admitted: "So far I haven't had a year to compare with 1994 but I've got to be patient. Last season I had to get used to a new tournament schedule and with many events taking place on strange courses in the US. As part of the settling down process I've built a house which my girlfriend and I moved into at the end of the year. So, now that we have all those obstacles out of the way, I feel far more comfortable."

He went on: "Obviously, my golfing future lies in the US, which will be my base. But I also plan to play to play European tournaments, like the Irish Open. In fact, I want to be a world player. There are quite a number of players around the world who can play this game really well, and I want to be one of them."

Despite his prodigious talent, Els is not immune from pressure. Westchester happened only a little more than seven months after he had retained the World Matchplay title, but he admitted: "I was getting worried going into the tournament. Thankfully I didn't have to wait nine years like Tom Watson did but it's still nice to come back and win.

"Having missed the cut at Doral, I was really down in the dumps at Colonial where I almost finished last (tied 67th). But Westchester changed everything. It meant I could really look forward to the summer - to the Irish Open and the British Open."

His Irish Open debut at Killarney in 1992 was a rather modest challenge. Rounds of 70, 74, 74 and 77 gave him an aggregate of 295 and a share of 65th place with none other than the tournament's leading amateur, Jody Fanagan. A measure of the astonishing advancement he made over the subsequent 24 months, however, was the fact that at Mount Juliet in 1994, Els was the pre championship favourite at 8 to 1, with Nick Faldo, the holder, at 12 to 1.

There were 10 days between his US Open triumph and the start of the Irish Open, but Els was still quite jaded when he arrived at Mount Juliet. Granted, he shot a five under par 67 in the pre championship pro am to be joint leading professional with JoseMaria Olazabal and Bernhard Langer.

But he failed to carry that form into the opening rounds of the tournament, shooting 71 and 73 to be eight shots behind joint leaders Olazabal and Robert Allenby at the halfway stage. Still, the classy South African finished strongly, with rounds of 67 and 69, to share eighth place behind Langer.

At 8.35 on the morning of Monday, June 20th 1994, Ernie Els arrived at the Oakmont club in Pittsburgh to prepare for the most important day of his golfing life so far. Going directly to his locker, he found a note from Player, wishing him luck.

By 4.20 that afternoon, the play off finally over, he was talking to reporters as the 94th US Open champion. "I never really played very well today, hut I guess it was good enough," he said modestly. Then there was a self conscious laugh - "Please don't write too many nasty things tomorrow."

His great compatriot had once observed that "Ernie has a power and perfection you seldom find in a kid." Which probably explains why, despite growing maturity, he remains a strange being to us, with his sublime talent and genial, easy going nature. A being capable of bringing his own, rather special magic, to the fabled Gleann na Draoithe.