Majestic Els just one off magic number

Golf: Ernie Els played one of the great rounds yesterday when he returned a course-record 60 at the Royal Melbourne club. He even had a putt for a 59 which slid just past the hole, but his 12-under score gave him a four-stroke lead after the first round of the Heineken Classic.

"I really wanted that 59," he said, a rare frown furrowing his face. "I knew after I birdied the 14th to go 12 under that it was on and I played the last few holes feeling more pressure than I've felt for a while."

Michael Campbell, after a 64 on a course always ranked in the world's top 10, could reasonably have expected to be leading but lay second, and Nick Faldo and Paul Casey, after what had seemed creditable 68s, found themselves no fewer than eight behind.

It was, in fact, a day when any number of people did worthy things and some did the best they'd ever done. Into the former category came Germany's Tobias Dier with a 65 and Adam Scott with a 66; into the latter the likes of Mahal Pearce, Wade Ormsby and Craig Carmichael, unknown to most, who exceeded their wildest dreams with 65s.

On another day the story might have been the Australian teenager Nick Flanagan, the US Amateur champion, who had a 67. But he and the rest were totally eclipsed by Els. His score equalled the best produced on both the European and Australasian tours and it was also probably his best round ever, given the calibre of the course. Its only rival would be the 61 he shot in winning the 1994 Dubai Desert Classic, but on that occasion 59 was a more distant prospect.

It was a real one yesterday. Els needed to birdie one of the last two holes and neither was difficult. The 17th needed only a two-iron off the tee with a nine-iron for the second, but he mishit the shot to the green and it pulled up 40 feet away.

No birdie there.

He hit a huge drive down the 18th - he averaged 326 yards off the tee - and had only a wedge to the pin. "It was into the breeze," he said, "and I thought I had to hit it hard, so I did."

It flew directly at the flag but pitched and stopped some 25 feet past. He watched the putt intently as it ran towards the hole, a sure sign that it had chances, but it had been hit a fraction too hard and ran just past.

"Oh, bugger," said a Royal Melbourne member who had clearly wanted to see history made, even though the club seemed to be proud enough of the fact that a golfer had achieved such a score on their course. Within moments of the South African's scorecard being verified the gold paint was drying on the honours board outside the locker-room, celebrating the record for the composite course.

Els is not a man particularly gifted with the gab and more than once, when attempting to explain his round, he said: "I just kept plugging away."

Most pro golfers plug away but there have been few in the history of the game with the talent of Els. Yesterday, for instance, when he went out he knew that Campbell already had a 64 on the board.

Most golfers would be intimidated by that, but Els merely thought: "I must have a good chance of shooting something low."

On a difficult day for the Irish challengers, Gary Murphy fired a one-under 71 which only good enough for 71st spot, Graeme McDowell was one shot better while Peter Lawrie struggled to a two-over 74.