Houston ? The last time Tiger Woods came to Champions Golf Club, he only had one victory in his previous eight tournaments, nearly missed the cut at a major championship, wasn’t in contention at two others, yet, he still was No. 1 in the world.

The difference is that two years ago, no one had any illusions of replacing him.

“I feel like my game right now is as strong as it’s been,” Vijay Singh said recently during his climb to No. 2, his highest ranking ever.

“If I play like I’m doing right now for the next two or three years, I’m going to contend for the No. 1 spot,” he said. “That’s my goal.”

Ernie Els understands the distance between him (No. 3) and Woods is about as wide as the oceans Els crosses while playing a worldwide schedule. But he has won seven times this year, and believes his best is still to come.

“I just want to play as good as I can and try and become No. 1,” Els said.

That goal would have been laughable 16 months ago, when Woods won the Masters and U.S. Open, and the gap between him and everyone else was more like a gulf.

Singh and Els are playing so well that No. 1 is a possibility.

Singh has won or finished second in his last four PGA Tour events, and he has been in the top 10 at every tournament but one since the Fourth of July. Numbers aside. He is overpowering courses like Woods, and the belly putter finally has given him confidence on the greens.

Singh only needs to finish in at least a three-way for third this week — no matter what Woods does — to win the PGA Tour money title. Woods has won the title four years in a row.

“After Tiger’s 2000 season, I don’t think anyone would have thought that he would not have led the money list for the next five or six years,” Charles Howell III said.

Els’ record doesn’t look as impressive to those with narrow minds or short memories. He hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since winning the first two in Hawaii, although he has won more than anyone this year while logging about 100,000 miles in the air.

Singh has a $768,464 lead on the money list, and it didn’t happen by accident. What does that say about Woods, who has played in nine fewer events?

Woods has won five times — the fifth straight year he’s won at least that many. Nick Price is the only other player to have won five times in one season over the last 20 years.

Woods’ adjusted scoring average (68.19) is the second-lowest in history, behind his 67.79 average in 2000 when only four of his 76 rounds were over par.

When Singh won the John Deere Classic, he said he wanted to win the money list “just once before I finish.”

“This will probably be the best opportunity that I get,” Singh added.

Els’ ambitions are more a product of Jos Vanstiphout, the Belgian mind guru who keeps beating into Els’ head to worry about his own game. While the world rankings usually are accurate at the top — Singh at No. 2, Els at No. 3 — Els has proven to be the most consistent rival to Woods over the last five years.

Still, replacing him at No. 1 in the world ranking will take more than talk.

Woods is never too far from the lead at any tournament, and his mediocre seasons are career years for everyone else.

Still, players are starting to believe Woods can be caught.

“The whole standard of the tour has improved,” Retief Goosen said. “It’s going to be more difficult for Tiger to win week-in and week-out. There’s going to be so many more guys that can win. And they probably feel if they have a great couple of years, they’ve got a chance to move very close to him.”