Ernie ELS is making a habit of beating up Colin Montgomerie in head-to-head play. On Saturday the South African did it again.

Els won with a four-round total of 273, 11 under par. Tom Lehman eventually finished second one stroke behind, with Montgomerie two shots back. It was Els' first tour victory since the Los Angeles Open in February last year and earned him £183,330 sterling.

He started the final round as co-leader with Notah Begay and Lehman. One stroke back were Montgomerie, a rejuvenated Nick Faldo, and Retief Goosen. Crucially, though, the draw for the final round put Els and Montgomerie in the same twosome.

For much of the final round it looked like the Scotsman would once again be a mere spectator as Els raced into the lead with three birdies in the first four holes to get to 11 under. But he came back to the field with bogeys at the seventh and eighth, before a birdie at the par-four 12th put him back on top at 10 under par.

Montgomerie, meanwhile, was level par through the first 12 holes, but then entered the fray in dramatic fashion. Short of the par-five 13th in two shots, his 50-yard pitch and run third found the hole for an eagle three. And when he birdied the short 14th, suddenly he was level with Els.

The last time Montgomerie and Els went at it in the final round of a big championship was the 1997 US Open at the Congressional Club. Els won it because he was able to handle the course's tough par-four 17th hole, while Montgomerie failed the test miserably.

Lehman also contended that championship and saw his hopes die when he, too, could not negotiate the 17th hole safely. On Saturday it was the 18th that separated Els from Montgomerie and Lehman.

Els got back to 11 under par with a magnificent birdie at the 17th, when he hit a five-iron to eight feet and drained the putt. "Seventeen was probably the biggest shot I played all week," he admitted.

The birdie left Montgomerie needing one of his own at the last to force a play-off. However, as at Congressional, he failed. He blocked his tee-shot right and found a horrible lie beside a fairway bunker. With the ball above his feet, he had to stand in the sand, choke down on the club and somehow get the ball up near the green.

He did well to land the ball just short of the putting surface. Bye, bye, birdie, and bye bye championship. He eventually missed a six-foot par putt to bogey the hole.

Els, on the other hand, made par from the greenside bunker to stay on 11 under. He then watched as Lehman, who moved to 11 under par after also birdying the 17th, hooked his teeshot into the water on 18.

This was the fourth time Els has bettered Montgomerie in a big championship. It was no surprise then that when Montgomerie emerged from the scorer's tent his first words to Els' wife, Liezl, were. "Get him out of here. I have completely had enough of your man."

Although Montgomerie was jesting, deep down he must be wishing Els would just go away. The South African was over-generous to Montgomerie when the subject of their head-to-head confrontations was raised. "We've played together so many times in the past six years," said Els.

"We've played together in major championships, in regular tour events. Our record is probably very even."

Els then tried to rewrite history by claiming that of the two, Montgomerie had won more prestigious titles. "He's won a lot more big tournaments than I have. He's probably a better player than I am. "But for some reason when I play him head-to-head we don't stand back from each other, which is great. You step on the first tee and you know you're going to have a good battle. He's been good for my game."

Too good - good enough to have given the South African two US Opens against Montgomerie. Put it this way: Montgomerie will not want to be drawn with Els in the last group on Sunday at St Andrews. If he is he might as well stay in bed.