World Championship: If there were times over this season when it appeared the body and mind were weak when push came to shove, Ernie Els yesterday - in winning the American Express championship at Mount Juliet, the 51st professional win world wide of his career but his first in Ireland - dispelled any doubts about his inner fortitude.
On a tough course in tough conditions and under continuous pressure from another revitalised soul mate in Thomas Bjorn, the South African got the job done.
In pretty horrible conditions, but certainly not as bad as envisaged, Els - who shot a final round 69 for a 72-holes aggregate of 18-under-par 270 - fended off the stubborn, unrelenting challenge of Bjorn, a player who, like Els, has endured spells of torment this season.
On this occasion, though, they were like a pair of scraping pitbulls who refused to be second bested.
On a day of constant rain and gusting winds, with the course playing much longer than its yardage, Els eventually outlasted Bjorn. "He kept me on my toes right to the last shot, the last putt. It was a tough day but, right now, I'm so happy. It's been a good summer but a tough summer and this really caps it off for me," observed Els, who contended in all four majors this year, including losing a play-off to Todd Hamilton in the British Open.
But, later, as he bounced his five-year-old daughter Samantha on his knee, Els looked as if he had finally shed his own inhibitions. Prior to coming to Ireland, he had taken a two-week break to rediscover himself.
"I needed to get that out of my system and start over again, otherwise I was going to get left behind. I want to go forward in my career. I want to win tournaments and I want to get to my goals. And the only way to do that is to move forward. You can't keep looking back."
The manner of Els's win was impressive. As he walked to the first tee protected by water-proofs that were entirely necessary, Els had a two-shot lead over Bjorn to protect but the noises from around the course provided evidence that others too were intent on making genuine challenges. Yet, none of those in closest proximity could match the best-of-the-day score of Australian Mark Hensby, who carded a quite remarkable 65 that included just one bogey. So, for Els, the main thing was to play good golf as he had done for the previous three days, to avoid any silly errors and to keep a watching brief on Bjorn, also playing in the final three-ball. He did all of those things.
When Bjorn rolled in birdie putt on the first to put it up to Els, he responded by holing his own. Then, on the third, he again birdied - getting in ahead of Bjorn, who also birdied. The Dane did pull a shot back by birdieing the fifth, so that the pair were separated by just one shot at the turn.
"You know, after nine holes, it became a matchplay . . . a little tussle between myself and Thomas. It seemed like other guys were a little too far back to really make a big charge."
It became classic nip-and-tuck. Els edging two clear with a birdie on the 10th, only for Bjorn to birdie the 11th. When Bjorn bogeyed the 14th, he bounced back with a birdie on the 15th. So it was that Els only had a one-shot lead coming to the par five 17th - however, a birdie there gave him a two-shot lead coming down the last which he was to need, as he bogeyed the 18th.
It was his lone bogey of the round and it came so late it was still sufficient to give him the victory and the top prize of $1.2 million.
"I think I had more pressure than anyone else in the field," said Els. "If I look back now, I think Thomas was not supposed to win. Thomas is making a comeback and all of that. I don't think he had the pressure on him. I had to win it, or lose it. I had more pressure on me . . . I think I showed I didn't want to lose."
Bjorn, too, observed Els's refusal to give anything away was crucial. "The first 17 holes he doesn't make a bogey. He knew that was the way to play, and that he was going to be very difficult to catch. I've come a long way. I can't describe how far I've come. It's been a long trip for me and I'm just happy with what I've done this week."
By the time the title was determined, Els and Bjorn had jumped clear of the field. David Howell, reaffirming his consistency in a season when he has moved up a level or two, finished with a 71 for 275 to be third with Sergio Garcia and Darren Clarke finished tied-fourth on 276.
For a time, Padraig Harrington also looked as if he would finish on that total. But the Dubliner's tee-shot on the par five 17th plunged into the pond that separates it from the 18th. "I wasn't afraid of the water, I was more afraid of pushing the shot into the tree on the right. But I'm not going to rue one mistake there," he said.
This was Els's day and confirmation that, after months of self-doubt, he has got rid of the little man who sat on his shoulder and made him wonder about his inadequacies rather than focus on the positives. Those days are gone.
270 - E Els (RSA) 69 64 68 69
271 - T Bjorn (Den) 68 69 66 68
275 - D Howell (Eng) 69 69 66 71
276 - Darren Clarke (NIrl) 71 72 65 68, S Garcia (Spa) 67 72 67 70
277 - R Goosen (RSA) 68 69 68 72, T Hamilton (U.S.) 66 69 69 73, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 69 69 66 73
278 - T Woods (U.S.) 68 70 70 70
279 - Z Johnson (U.S.) 68 71 69 71
280 - M Hensby (Aus) 73 73 69 65, L Donald (Eng) 67 71 71 71
281 - D Toms (U.S.) 70 74 68 69, B Faxon (U.S.) 70 68 72 71, L Westwood (Eng) 68 69 71 73
283 - S Maruyama (Jpn) 70 70 73 70, A Cabrera (Arg) 69 69 74 71, S Appleby (Aus) 67 74 70 72, J Kelly (U.S.) 69 73 69 72, MA Jimenez (Spa) 67 68 75 73
284 - P Casey (Eng) 72 70 71 71, R Sabbatini (RSA) 71 70 70 73
285 - T Immelman (RSA) 71 71 72 71, B Lane (Eng) 69 72 72 72, S Flesch (US) 67 70 74 74, S Cink (US)71 73 67 74, P Lonard (Aus) 69 70 70 76.
286 - R Green (Aus) 72 70 72 72, J Leonard (US) 68 68 77 73, C Franco (Par) 69 72 75 70, B Tway (US) 71 70 72 73, N O'Hern (Aus) 68 73 75 70, Paul McGinley (Irl) 70 75 71 70, A Cejka (Ger) 70 74 69 73, T Levet (Fra) 73 71 73 69.
287 - C DiMarco (US) 69 75 70 73, A Scott (Aus) 67 74 73 73, S Ames (Tri) 73 72 70 72, J Furyk (US) 70 70 71 76, F Couples (US) 73 67 70 77.
288 - D Love III (US) 74 69 69 76, T Jaidee 71 75 71 71.
289 - S Drummond (Eng) 69 71 73 76, J Haas (US) 72 71 70 76, P Senior (Aus) 69 74 74 72, Graeme McDowell (NIrl) 73 70 75 71, A Atwal (Ind) 71 78 70 70.
291 - J Haeggman (Swe) 71 71 73 76, D Botes (RSA) 70 72 75 74.
292 - A McLardy (RSA) 73 73 70 76, Chris Riley (US) 70 75 73 74, Chad Campbell (US) 70 79 71 72.
293 - S.K. Ho (Kor) 71 76 72 74.
294 - R Allenby (Aus) 68 74 75 77, T Herron (US) 73 75 72 74, S Verplank (US) 71 82 72 69.
295 - JF Remesy (Fra) 72 71 75 77, K.J. Choi (Jpn) 7 71 76 75 73.
296 - J Kaye (US) 70 73 73 80, C Howell III (US) 74 73 71 78, D Fichardt (RSA) 76 71 74 75, F Jacobson (Swe) 74 76 72 74.
297 - S Leaney (Aus) 73 75 71 78.
299 - Y Eun Yang (Kor) 75 76 71 77.
300 - Andre Stolz ((Aus) 70 76 75 79
304 - M Campbell (NZl) 74 77 73 80.
306 - S Katayama (Jpn) 79 76 76 75.
307 - Lian-wei Zhang (Chi) 75 77 76 79.
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