Els coolly continues where he left off

ERNIE ELS followed up his US Open triumph with a commanding victory in the Buick Classic in Harrison, New York yesterday.

Els fired a two-under 69 for a 16-under par total of 268, coolly leading the tournament at the Westchester Country Club from start to finish for the second year in a row.

"If there are horses for courses, this is probably my golf course," said Els. "Obviously, I love the place. It's a great feeling to win here again."

The last golfer to post start-to-finish victories in the same event two years in a row was Tom Watson in the Tournament of Champions in 1979-80.

Els, who claimed his second US Open title in four years last Sunday, also became the first golfer to win the US Open and the Buick in consecutive weeks since Hale Irwin in 1990.

And as in the US Open, he was chased in the final round by Jeff Maggert. Maggert, who eventually finished fourth in the Open, shot a three-under-par 68 yesterday to finish two strokes behind Els.

Indeed, Maggert also finished second to Els at Harrison last year, although then by the distance of eight shots.

Jim Furyk and Robert Damron finished tied for third on 274.

Els was one ahead of Maggert after four holes in the final round when brief but severe thunder showers interrupted play for two hours.

"At the break my lead was down to one, which may have been a blessing in disguise because it made me think about what I had to do. I decided to make pars and make them come to me, and as it turned out, I made the right choice to play conservatively," he said.

The win for Els, the fifth of his PGA Tour career and his 21st worldwide, was worth $270,000. It also propelled him to the top spot in the world rankings, supplanting Tiger Woods, who had replaced Greg Norman just last week.

"It's quite a surprise. I don't know what to say about it. I struggle for six months and win two tournaments and am the number one. But right at this exact moment, yes, I probably am number one. I've never said that before," said Els.

Woods shot a one-over-par 72 yesterday to finish at three-over 287, tied for 43rd. Woods, who has played five of the last six weeks, has broken par just once in his last 12 rounds.

The competition has tired him, and the unrelenting attention has wearied him even more. Woods plans to spend a week at home in Florida doing a lot of fishing and little golf. "I've run myself into the ground," he said.