Nothing less than victory at the TCL Classic on the Chinese island of Hainan in a fortnight will give the Scot a shot at making the Players event.
However, an upbeat Montgomerie said: "I'm getting to where I want to be. I've had a second, a fourth, a fifth and a 10th this year and that's okay.
"I'm hitting the ball great. I just need to hole a few more putts. If I'd sunk a couple of 15-footers I would certainly have contended better here than I did. If I can get into the Augusta line-up I have as good a chance as I have ever had."
In reality, it will take a brilliant performance by any player to deny Els a first green jacket.
The portents for the 35-year-old South African are good. In the two previous years when he won the Dubai title Els went on to take a major title: in 1994, he beat Montgomerie in a play-off for the US Open and in 2002 he won The Open at Muirfield.
Trailing Mickelson by two shots going into the final round, Woods carded a six-under 66 to finish 24 under par on 264. It was his second of the year and ended Vijay Singh's 26-week reign as world No1.
