Hard to say goodbye for Big Easy

Ernie Els bids farewell to the Masters this week. But he's finding it difficult to say goodbye.

"I'm not really looking at it as my last one. But if it is, it is," he said on Monday.

Els has played the Augusta National in 22 Masters and once in a private game when he brought his father, brother and a few friends to enjoy one of the most interesting and infamous golf courses in the world. (No black players were allowed until 1990 and women were forbidden to be members until 2012 when Condoleezza Rice joined.)

Since he stepped onto the course as a precocious 24-year-old, Els has come close to winning the Masters twice. In 2000 he lost by three strokes to Vijay Singh, a win headlined "Vijay Day" in Sports Illustrated.

It was a close-run thing in 2004. In the final round, Els had eagles at the ninth and 13th. The second one gave him a three-shot lead over Phil Mickelson, who until then had never won a major. The American fought back to overhaul Els on the final hole with an 18-foot birdie putt that gave him the title by one shot. Mickelson became only the fifth man in 67 years to have birdied the 72nd hole of the Masters. Mickelson, now 46, won two more Masters, in 2006 and in 2010, when he was 39.

Angel Cabrera was also 39 when he won, but neither man is the tournament's oldest winner, or even second oldest; Mark O'Meara was 41. The real ou toppie is Jack Nicklaus, winner of six Masters, the last of which was in 1986 at age 46. Els will need to go one year better to return because the Masters grants winners lifetime exemptions.

Els's presence at this year's Masters comes courtesy of his British Open win in 2012, which granted him a five-year exemption for Augusta and the US Open, both of which run out this year. There are other ways to ensure a return: finishing in the top four of the remaining majors this year, in the top 30 on the FedEx Cup standings, or being ranked among the top 50 in the world by the end of this year, or by this time next year.

For a campaigner ranked 404th in the world who hasn't been in the top 100 since 2015 and who hasn't finished in the top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings since 2012, that just ain't gonna happen. And our Ernie is realistic. "I've had 22 goes at it and had a great time," he said. One more great time would be to make the cut this year, something he missed last year when he six-putted the final green.