Since the day he won his first major title at the tender age of 24, defeating Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts in a play-off for the US Open, Ernie Els has never been outside the top 12 on the world rankings.
But now, nine months short of his 40th birthday, the big South African is in danger of being edged out of that elite group as he returns to the European Tour for the Qatar Masters starting on Thursday and next week's Dubai Desert Classic.
After finishing 39th at the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday Els dropped from 10th to 12th, Ryder Cup pair Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson being the pair to move past him, even though Westwood took last week off and Stenson missed the cut in Abu Dhabi.
Having begun last year fourth in the world and standing fifth when Tiger Woods began his long injury lay-off in June it has been a huge disappointment to his many fans that Els' only victory since then was in the unofficial Hassan Trophy in Morocco in November.
At least, however, he is spending the next fortnight in a region where he has had a lot of success.
"My record in the desert is good," the former number one said on his website, "with three wins in Dubai and one in Qatar, so I'm looking forward to it.
"The golf course at Doha is a good test, with strong par fives and par threes. The greens are very true to putt on, so there are birdies to be had, but a lot depends on the conditions.
"If the wind gets up, as it so often does in these parts, a low score doesn't come easy.
"I like to think I've always been a good wind player, so hopefully we can get something going. This was the scene of a great couple of weeks' golf for me back in 2005.
"The two tournaments were played the other way round that year and I started with a win in Dubai and then another win the following week in Qatar.
"That started my season on a really positive note and maybe being in the Middle East will be good for me again."
Els did not play in Qatar last year when Adam Scott charged to a three-stroke win with a course-record closing round of 61, but in Dubai he stood on the final tee needing an eagle to win and a birdie four to tie Woods, who had just completed a stunning back nine 31 to set the target.
Going for the green in two Els came up well short in the water, blaming a gust of wind, and with a bogey six dropped to third.
It was shortly afterwards that he revealed his five-year-old son Ben had autism. A lot of his energies have been devoted to that cause since and a new course he has designed in Hawaii was opened last week and will host a charity event in late April.
By then Els hopes he might finally have achieved a first Masters victory to go with two US Opens and one Open.
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