Els puts pressure on rivals

In the matter of two weeks, Ernie Els has bulged his bank balance by $1.8 million and, in terms of the bigger picture, with world number one Tiger Woods still recuperating from knee surgery, has got his quest for world domination off to a flying start.

Top of the US Tour's money list with back-to-back wins in the season's two opening tournaments in Hawaii, the South African switches continents and tours this week to open his European Tour season in the Singapore Masters, which starts on Thursday.

There he will attempt to play catch-up on Padraig Harrington, the current number one in Europe who won't reappear on the circuit until next month's Malaysian Open.

Els, though, is very much the man of the moment. Although he won't play again on the US Tour until the Accenture World Matchplay at La Costa at the end of February, the 32-year-old South African has stolen a march on everyone in the race to top the American money list. In completing the Hawaiian double - adding the Sony Open to the previous week's Mercedes Championship - he became the first player since Steve Jones in 1989 to win the first two events of the season.

Unlike the previous week, however, when he had eight strokes to spare over his nearest pursuer, Els, on this latest occasion, only secured victory by defeating Australian Aaron Baddeley - a tour rookie and playing for the first time with a full tour card in the US - in a sudden-death play-off. Els sank a 50-foot birdie putt from off the 10th green to win at the second tie hole.

The win maintained a streak that makes Els the hottest player in the game. On the last four occasions he has teed it up in competition he has won: at the World Matchplay at Wentworth (an unofficial tournament sanctioned by the PGA European Tour) in October; then, at the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City (another unofficial tournament, but one with a $2 million winner's cheque) and, since re-emerging Stateside, he has won the Mercedes - confined to last year's tournament winners, but missing Woods and Phil Mickelson - and, now, the Sony.

While Els has been a money machine for the end of the 2002 season - coinciding with the birth of his second child - and into the new 2003, his win in the Sony means he has won nine times worldwide in the past 13 months. And, while Johnny Miller won the first three events on the US Tour in 1974, Els's back-to-back wins puts him in rather elite company with Jones (1989), Gil Morgan (1983), Miller (1975), Lloyd Mangrum (1953), Byron Nelson (1946) and Jimmy Hines (1936).

Els shot a final round 67 for a 16-under-par total of 264, finishing level with Baddeley and two ahead of Chris DiMarco, who defends his Phoenix Open title on the US Tour this week. It was the eighth straight round Els has shot in the 60s.

Baddeley, who carried a two-shot lead into the final round but found himself on level terms after five holes, had forced the play-off by holing a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th green, having bogeyed the penultimate hole after being disturbed by the door of a portable toilet slamming shut as he prepared to putt. Both players birdied the first tie hole - the 18th - before Els made his improbable putt on the next.

"I was just trying to stay alive, and all of a sudden I win the tournament," said Els of the winning putt from off the green.

"It was a heck of a putt," Baddeley conceded. "I'm disappointed because I had a chance to win, but happy because I made Ernie work for it."

Now with a headstart of close to $2 million on Woods, Els - who finished third in last year's European Order of Merit behind Retief Goosen and Harrington - switches his attention to the European Tour where he will be the star attraction in the Singapore Masters at the Laguna National course.

Woods, who underwent surgery on his knee before Christmas, has started playing some practice holes at Isleworth in Florida - where he lives - and plans to make his seasonal debut in the Buick Open next month.

While Els plays in Singapore and Woods continues to recuperate, world number three Mickelson makes his first appearance of the season in the Phoenix Open this week. Also in the field are Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, David Toms and Vijay Singh, all of whom are in the top 10 in the world rankings.

For Mickelson, it marks the second straight year that his early-season schedule has been altered, because of the birth of his second daughter last year and his wife, Amy's, current pregnancy.

"Lefty" is planning to take time off in March, when the baby is due, so he played in three silly-season events - a departure from his usual off-season routine - and plans to play a heavy West Coast schedule over the next two months.

Meanwhile, town commissioners in Augusta will today be asked to approve an updated city ordinance that refines the public demonstration law on the books. Protesters from the (American) National Council of Women's Organisations and the Rev Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/Push Coalition have said they will show up in force at the US Masters on April 10th-13th to protest at Augusta National Golf Club's male-only membership policy.

The amended law requires groups of five or more people to apply for a permit from the sheriff's department 30 days in advance of the event. No timelimit is given under existing law. The sheriff's office will have up to 10 business days to approve or deny the protest permit, and a denial can be appealed for judicial review up to five days later. The local sheriff has said public safety will supersede free speech and he has declared public property around Augusta National off-limits.

WORLD RANKINGS - 1, Tiger Woods (USA) 15.31; 2, Ernie Els (SA) 8.46; 3, Phil Mickelson (USA) 7.38; 4, Retief Goosen (SA) 6.01; 5, David Toms (USA) 5.87; 6, Sergio Garcia (Sp) 5.79; 7, Vijay Singh (Fij), 5.67; 8, Padraig Harrington (Ire) 5.33; 9, Chris DiMarco (USA) 4.46; 10, Davis Love III (USA) 4.43; 11, Colin Montgomerie (Scot) 4.21; 12, Jim Furyk (USA) 4.09; 13, Nick Price (Zim) 3.98; 14, Rocco Mediate (USA) 3.80; 15, Robert Allenby (Aus) 3.63; 16, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 3.52; 17, Rich Beem (USA) 3.42; 18, Justin Leonard (USA) 3.36; 19, Bernhard Langer (Ger) 3.36; 20, Michael Campbell (NZ) 3.35.

Other Irish rankings - 26, Darren Clarke 3.13; 102, Paul McGinley 1.41; 176, Graeme McDowell 0.84.

Irish positions on European Tour Order of Merit - 1, Harrington €247,967; 30, Gary Murphy €25,546; 64, Peter Lawrie €12,127; 93, Graeme McDowell €6,314.