All too easy as Els sweeps to win

World Matchplay Final: The odds, you felt, were always stacked in favour of one man.

After all, before a ball was struck in yesterday's final of the HSBC World Matchplay championship, Ernie Els - who lives on the leafy estate, had re-designed the West Course and bagged the title six times - had history and circumstances to pitch against his would-be conqueror, Angel Cabrera.

And, on a beautiful, autumnal day, Els duly claimed a record seventh title with a comprehensive, 6 and 4 win over the Argentinian.

In authenticating his moniker of The Big Easy, it all proved a tad too easy; although Els did produce some outstanding golf, contributing 13 birdies in the 31 holes it took him to outclass Cabrera and claim the €1.48 million top prize, the biggest in golf.

"I wish I could bring Wentworth with me around the world," quipped Els of a course that is effectively in his backyard and which he has turned into a money-making machine through his endeavours in this particular tournament.

He has now won seven times in 12 appearances, having secured a hat-trick of wins from 1994-96 and again from 2002-04. From those seven victories, Els has amassed in excess of €5.5 million.

No wonder he is fond of the place.

For Els, the win, his first since he captured the South African Open last December, enabled him to leapfrog four players to move top of the PGA European Tour order of merit, ahead of Padraig Harrington.

However, Els has now finished his commitments to the European Tour for the season, and has decided to play in the Singapore Open (where he has a three-year deal) next month instead of the Volvo Masters, the tour's finale.

"It's been a weird year," confessed Els, who, despite the matchplay being his first win of the year has managed to play consistently well - missing only one cut, albeit in the US Masters - and manoeuvring his way to the top of the moneylist.

Was he surprised to be top of the order of merit?

"Well, when I've played, I've played not too bad and finished in the top-10 a lot of times, and that gets you up the money list. I think I've played well in tournaments that have a lot of money in them, and this one definitely has a lot of money in it."

Yesterday, Els, despite being hindered by a stiff back, made his presence felt from the first hole, assuming the lead with a winning par against Cabrera's bogey five. He never lost it.

Els, in fact, established a three-hole lead in the first round in the morning.

The only time he had any cause to allow self-doubt infiltrate his psyche was on the long 12th, where he was twice in trees, off the tee and then with his lay-up, before putting the third shot into a ditch.

He conceded the hole to Cabrera, but not the initiative; and he steadied himself with a 35-foot birdie putt on the 14th that restored his three-hole advantage.

During the break in rounds, he received physiotherapy treatment that allowed him to loosen up.

There were times when Cabrera must have wondered what he had do to dent Els's dominance. Take the third hole, a par four of 465 yards, as an example of how Els refused to open the door to the Argentinian.

In the afternoon, Els's tee-shot was pushed badly right and produced a symphony of sounds as the ball clattered from one tree branch to another.

Meanwhile, Cabrera's drive was smack bang in the middle of the fairway.

With his second shot, an aggressive three-iron, Els again hit trees; but somehow, managed to move the ball forward, from where he hit an eight-iron approach to 12 feet.

He holed the putt for par, while Cabrera, whose second shot finished just off the green, chipped to four feet and missed the par putt.

Somehow, he had lost the hole.

Somehow, Els had won it.

"That was," said Els, "a classic case of matchplay".

Cabrera did manage to reduce the deficit to two holes when he won the sixth and the ninth in birdies, but any suggestion of a true fightback were swiftly ended by Els who hit a six-iron to 15 feet on the 10th and rolled in the birdie putt to go three up again.

Then, he finished Cabrera off by winning the 12th in birdie, the 13th in par after his opponent pulled his approach badly, and the 14th with a conceded birdie.

It was a performance worthy of the Els of old, and hinted at the promise that lies ahead.