Big Easy does it the hard way to claim Open glory

The demons of self-doubt exorcised, Ernie Els could finally relax and clasp the silver claret jug close to his chest. It had been hard won, this 131st Open Championship, and the South African - who had shown fortitude to go with some wonderful golf, and particularly two bunker saves that would have been beyond many a lesser soul - could scarcely take it all in. Open Champion! The dream he'd first nurtured as an eight-year-old when he first held a golf club in his hands had finally come true.

"This is what I've wanted, ever since I started to play the game," said Els. And, for that moment, the little man who had lived on his shoulder spouting negative thoughts for much of this season had finally been banished, and banished in dramatic fashion.

After an initial four-hole play-off and, then, another hole of sudden-death, in which he defeated Thomas Levet, another Frenchman - reminiscent of Jean Van de Velde at Carnoustie three years ago - who showed that losers can be good sports too, Els had triumphed.

It had taken 77 holes, longer than he'd anticipated at the start of the day when he carried a two-shot advantage into the final round, but the required destination had been reached.

On a beautifully sunny day, a stark contrast to Saturday, and with barely a hint of wind, Els took his fourth title of the year - adding a cherished major, the third of his career, to the Genuity Championship he had won on the US Tour and the Heineken Classic and Dubai Desert Classic he had won on the European Tour.

It was at the Genuity in March that Els talked of the little man who lived on his shoulder whispering negative thoughts into his ear. "I got rid of him in the end. This week I had a chance a couple of times to break away and the little guy just kept sitting on my shoulder. Every time I wanted to get rid of him, I made a mistake. Even in the last play-off hole, I just got him back again. But I'm proud of myself for getting this one."

For much of the afternoon, Els had looked a likely winner. Although players bunched behind him, Els held the upper hand and, when he rolled in his fourth birdie of the final round on the 12th, holing from 18 feet, the jug was as good as his. Or so it seemed.

What happened on the next hole, the short 13th, seemed to confirm the sense of destiny. His seven-iron tee shot found a nasty lie in a greenside bunker but, with all the skill of a conjuror, he splashed out and almost holed it.

At that time, Els felt he had it won. Then, the mental errors crept in. He bogeyed the 14th and double bogeyed the 16th, where his seven-iron tee-shot missed the green and ended in a grassy hollow.

The recovery was not a thing of beauty. What he called his "Jekyl and Hyde" tendencies. Els effectively bladed the chip shot, and the ball skidded through the green. He chipped to 10 feet, and missed the putt.

The Open was now open, and, in that instance, Els had fallen a shot behind players already ensconced in the clubhouse: Levet (66), Stuart Appleby (65) and Steve Elkington (66) had all produced fine closing rounds to have signed for six-under-par 72-holes totals of 278, a shot ahead of Padraig Harrington and Gary Evans - both of whom bogeyed the last - and Shigeki Maruyama.

But for that bogey on the last, where he went with a driver off the tee but found the most horrendous lie in a fairway bunker and could only manage a bogey, Harrington - who closed with a 67 for 279 - would have found himself in the play-off. It wasn't to be, however.

Els got the birdie he needed on the 17th - hitting a three-iron approach to the green and two-putting from 20 feet - but, with a birdie putt on the last to win it there and then, he showed little conviction. When Els reached the recorder's hut, he was in despair.

"I was pretty much down in the dumps, really," admitted Els. A few words with his sports psychologist, the Belgian Jos Vanstiphout, helped him to clear his head. By the time he reached the first tee for the play-off, his mind was focused again.

Of all the majors, the British Open is unique in that play-offs consist of four holes of strokeplay and, only if it is unresolved, does it go to sudden-death.

After the first four holes, Elkington and Appleby - whose approach to the 18th, the fourth play-off hole, found a greenside bunker - were eliminated, both on one-over for the four holes. Levet,a player with two European Tour titles in a 14 year career, and Els, a winner of two US Opens, were level par for the same stretch and went head-to-head.

In sudden-death, Levet again decided to take a driver off the 18th tee - just as he had done in regulation play and first time round in the play-off - but this time, like Harrington a couple of hours earlier, his drive went down the left side of the fairway and found a terrible lie in a bunker. He could only play out sideways onto the fairway.

Whatever initiative Els had seemed to have been thrown away, however, as the "little man" returned to his shoulder. He pulled his approach into a greenside bunker and, again, had a difficult lie.

Just as he had done at the 13th earlier on that day, Els showed his talent with horrendous bunker shots. He splashed out to four feet and, after Levet, who had reached the green in three, and then two-putted for a bogey, Els holed his par putt to claim the title.

"I've lost to a great player. He's a big man, very talented," remarked Levet. "That bunker shot could have gone anywhere. He's just so very talented." Touche!