December in George on South Africa’s Garden Route, Christmas in Mauritius, new year in Cape Town, January in Wentworth until the foul weather forced him to flee back to South Africa. The life of Riley. Yes, and also the life of Ernie Els. And now he is here in Qatar preparing for his eighteenth season as a professional.

Els, 37, bent to press his tee-peg slowly into the ground and placed his ball on it. He was about to hit his first drive of his first practice round before his first tournament of the year, his first round with a new caddie and his first appearance since he admitted that he has drawn up a three-year plan to displace Tiger Woods as world No 1. No pressure, then.

In 1990, Els and De Wet Basson, a fellow South African, teamed up on the European Tour. “It was tough for us,” Els said. “Money was tight, but I loved the chances to visit the European capitals — Madrid, Paris, London.

“During the Irish Open one year, De Wet and I went to a local pub to watch the tennis, the French Open, on television. We were bad. We were drinking a lot and betting on every point. Got home to this little bed and breakfast and I was sick. The landlady gave me some food, helped me to bed and woke me up the next morning and got me off to the tournament.

“They were good days. That was when I learnt how to travel. I learnt about the game, learnt about myself. I am so glad I came through the system when I did. It was the old school. I have been lucky. I have got a good wife. She understands me and supports me. She believes in me. She likes to travel. Imagine if she had her own business.” He rolled his eyes.

Els was accompanied on this practice round by Jos Vanstiphout, the mind coach, J. P. Fitzgerald, his new caddie, and a couple of others. Els often plays practice rounds with Adam Scott, Sergio García, Trevor Immelman and Vijay Singh.

“Some of the guys live in the US and I live in London, so we have different lives and it’s difficult,” Els said. “I don’t play practice rounds with Tiger. I want to stay away from that circus.”

Nearly two hours after starting, Els had mentioned Woods’s name for the first time. “I think that some of the young guys are a little too serious at an early age,” Els said. “Because of the way Tiger prepares for tournaments, he is different. You’ve got to be yourself. You know your strengths and weaknesses. I see a lot of youngsters trying to swing like him and they are not built like him. He is a wonderful role model, but for some of them I am not sure it is totally the right thing.”

Els’s fortunes began to improve in 1992. “I played with John Cook in the last round of that year’s Open at Muirfield,” he said. “Cooky should have won. I came fifth. At the 1993 US Open at Baltusrol in 1993, Lee Janzen [the eventual winner] missed a 20-foot putt on the last green on Friday that would have knocked me out of the competition. I went 67, 68 at the weekend and finished seventh. Then , in that year’s Open at Royal St George’s, I had four rounds in the 60s. Then I was off. I won a tournament in Japan at the end of the year, beat Greg Norman in Dubai at the start of the next year. In 1994, I won the US Open in a play-off and six times around the world.”

The subject turned to rugby. “We should have a bet on England v South Africa in the World Cup,” Els said to a companion. “Hmm,” came the reply.

“What about 50 on that game and 50 on the team that goes further in the competition?” “Dollars or pounds?” the companion asked. “Depends how strongly you support your country,” Els said. The companion gulped.

On that windy afternoon, Els’s swing looked rusty and a couple of shots were off line. Hardly surprising, considering how little golf he has played and no one should read too much into the occasional inaccurate drive.

The Commercialbank Qatar Masters, which begins today, is the start of an important year for Els. Can he win more than the one tournament he captured in 2006? Can he climb up the world rankings from No 5? Most of all, can he challenge Woods again? There is a three-year plan, remember.