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| July 23, 2002 | Tuesday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 12,1423 |
Els ends week of low expectations
GULLANE (Scotland), July 22: Ernie Els survived a roller-coaster ride before winning the British Open on Sunday, but perhaps the most remarkable aspect of his triumph was that he began the week at such a low ebb.
The world number three arrived at Muirfield in gloomy spirits, openly admitting that his game was in desperate need of improvement and that the Tiger Woods factor was preying heavily on his mind.
Woods had already clinched the first two majors of the year and was a firm favourite to win the third leg of a unique calendar grand slam of the sport’s four most prestigious tournaments.
“These days, you play the golf course and you play Tiger,” Els said at the start of the week.
“You can beat the field but it doesn’t mean you’re going to beat Tiger. It doesn’t really change anything you do. He’s just a totally different talent.
“And it seems he’s there every time. Even when he’s five behind going into the last day, you get the feeling that he’ll make something happen.”
As it happened, Saturday’s dreadful weather over the Firth of Forth scuppered Woods’s slam prospects as he ballooned to a 10-over-par 81 — the worst round of his professional career.
But the South African was not to know that as he prepared for Thursday’s opening round striving to find better rhythm in his swing.
“I felt my game was really on in the first quarter of the year and I won when Tiger was in the field (in the Genuity) — and that always figures high in my book,” he said before the tournament.
“But I haven’t got it back to my best since then. The shots aren’t quite coming out as I’m visualising them.
“My swing’s not tight enough and my ball position is here and there. But I feel by Thursday I’ll get something going.”
The 32-year-old Els certainly did get something going as he opened his Muirfield account with scores of 70 and 66.
His first round was good enough to put him into early contention, just three strokes off the lead, but he came close to running away with the tournament on day two as he raced to the turn in only 29 shots.
Seven birdies going out left him just one stroke outside Englishman Denis Durnian’s all-time Open best for nine holes, but the South African failed to capitalise as he completed the second nine in 37.
Saturday’s third round was dominated by the howling winds and driving rain in the afternoon and, even though he played in the worst of the conditions, Els managed to birdie two of the last three holes for a one-over 72.
That left him two shots clear of the field going into the final day.
“I can’t explain how pleased I am with that score,” he said afterwards with a great deal more confidence than he had displayed earlier in the week.
His swing seemed to be holding up, even in some of the worst weather ever seen at a major championship.
Els still had to undergo further moments of mental torture during Sunday’s final round at Muirfield, throwing away a three-shot cushion with just six holes to play as the pressures down the stretch in a major got to him once again.
But he managed to bounce back from a double-bogey at the par-three 16th with a birdie-four at 17th, and six successive pars after that - one at the 449-yard 18th and five over the extra playoff holes - were enough to secure him the third major title of his career.
“I guess you can only take so much,” said a smiling but emotionally-drained Els.
“Some careers could have ended like this. I wouldn’t say I would have been one of them if I didn’t win it today but I would have really been a different person after this.
“It would have been a very hard loss to take if I hadn’t won. Now I’m back on track and I can legitimately try and win the four majors.”
Els may have been struggling for form and confidence when he arrived at Muirfield last week but his dramatic playoff victory in the 131st British Open on Sunday has ended all that.
The smooth-swinging South African is now focusing on winning the two majors to have eluded him - the U.S. Masters and the U.S. PGA championship - and, for the moment, he has probably even forgotten the Tiger factor.
Leading world golf rankings issued on Monday (U.S. unless stated, previous ranking in brackets):
1. (1) Tiger Woods 16.31 points average
2. (2) Phil Mickelson 10.64
3. (3) Ernie Els (South Africa) 8.85
4. (4) Retief Goosen (South Africa) 7.23
5. (5) Sergio Garcia (Spain) 6.96
6. (6) David Toms 5.93
7. (7) Davis Love III 5.58
8. (10) Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 5.29
9. (8) David Duval 5.27
10. (9) Vijay Singh (Fiji) 5.17
11. (11) Nick Price (Zimbabwe) 5.01
12. (12) Jim Furyk 4.74
13. (13) Chris DiMarco 4.50
14. (14) Michael Campbell (New Zealand) 4.40
15. (18) Bob Estes 4.28
16. (16) Colin Montgomerie (Britain) 4.25
17. (15) Darren Clarke (Britain) 4.24
18. (17) Angel Cabrera (Argentina) 4.18
19. (20) Rocco Mediate 4.02
20. (19) Kenny Perry 4.01.—Reuters
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