Els falls apart yet again the moment he hears the Tiger's on his tail

Look back on many of the highlight reels of Woods's career and there is Els, head in hands trying desperately to assauge his own disappointment.

The start of what came to be known as Tiger-itis began at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand on January 25, 1998, when Els lost an eight-shot lead to Woods with a round to play. It continued on an enthralling final day — well, for neutrals, at least — here at the Dubai Desert Classic when the full majesty of Woods was revealed over the closing nine holes.

Trailing Els by five at that point, he peeled off a succession of memorable strokes to come home in 31 and set a target of 14 under par. "I thought it would come up one short," Woods said.

Like with Jack Nicklaus before him, never underestimate the effect it has on everyone else when they hear Tiger's audience in full voice as he goes on one of his charges.

Els needed one birdie over the final three holes to force a play-off. The wonderfully promising young German Martin Kaymer had shown what is possible over this stretch by playing them in four under to finish one off the pace.

The 38-year-old South African, alas, couldn't banish the demons. The 16th and 17th came and went with no change to his score and then, alas, came a final hole that summed up ten years of anguish, as he dumped his approach into the water at the front of the green. The sight of the ball plunging down fully 15 yards from safety was sad indeed, and certainly a vivid contrast to the thrilling play of Woods on the same hole.

For Els, who ended last year by putting a ball into the water on the 18th to lose a tournament, the subsequent bogey denied him even a share of second, as he finished joint third alongside fellow countryman and Els protege, Louis Oosthuizen.

As for the champion, if ever a man's journey over 500 yards could be used to characterise a career it was Woods on the 18th. A fine drive was followed by a five wood caught flush which he thought would finish 20ft behind the hole. When it disappeared from view Woods presumed it was in the bunker at the back of the green, offering no problem for a man with his gifts.

In fact, it had come to rest in a horrible spot next to the hazard. When caddie Steve Williams saw the lie as he walked on to the green he grimaced and shouted: "Damn!"

Woods? The resigned look of a man who accepted long ago that golf was never meant to be fair. After all, his week had begun with him cracking the face of a beloved driver on the first hole of the pro-am.

When the well-executed pitch, played while choking down on a wedge caused by having to stand in the bunker, came up 25 ft short, he was less sanguine, tossing his club at his bag. What followed next, however, was one of those Woods moments. Faced with a slippery, downhill left-to-righter that no-one holes, guess who did to set off an animated dance across the green and any number of fist pumps. It was, quite simply, a putt that deserved to win any tournament. Irishman Damien McGrane walked every step of the final 36 holes with Woods and saw a rare example of him playing poorly in Saturday's 73 followed by another example of the unique animal he becomes under the pressures of a final round. McGrane admitted he was worn out by the finish, as he ran up a 79. But he will have one or two memories, won't he?

Kaymer aside, not too many of the high-profile Europeans will care to remember this event, summed up by Ian Poulter's miserable week. He only committed to play at the last minute and must have wished he hadn't after a final round 76. Poulter's fellow pros appear in no mood either to let him forget his alleged comment to Golf World magazine that when he reaches his full potential he will be the only challenger to Woods. When asked about the fact that the gap between him and Phil Mickelson in second place is bigger than the gap between second and the 1,000th-rated player, Woods replied: "I thought Poulter was number two in the world."