South African Open:Ernie Els took his fourth South African Open title in style, carding a final-round 65 to end on 24 under and set a new scoring record for the tournament at the Humewood Golf Club in Port Elizabeth.
Els eventually won by three clear shots - even though he bogeyed the last hole - after he started the day three shots behind overnight leader Trevor Immelman to take the title at the world's second oldest open. In doing so he won his first title of 2006 and ensured that he has won at least one tournament every year since 1991.
Immelman finished second after a disappointing 73, but the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year was at least able to keep Swede Patrik Sjoland out of second place. Sjoland ended on 20 under, a shot behind Immelman.
Els's joy at finally breaking his duck was plain to see as he sprayed champagne all over the press contingent. "I had to go out there today and play positive. I didn't really have much choice, especially with Trevor carding a 63 on Saturday. I don't know, but on the range last night I found something in my swing and I was very comfortable. I was glad to see a breeze here this morning and it added a little more to the game."
He said he had adopted a matchplay strategy which paid off handsomely. "My game plan was to draw level by the ninth hole and, as it turned out, I was already ahead by then. I was hitting a number of good shots but not getting the birdies until I sunk a putt on 12 and that made me a lot more confident."
Immelman gave credit to Els, who he said was a very worthy champion. "I tried my best, but it was simply not my day. There are a lot of positives that I will take out of this. I have had a great weekend, and posted a few good scores and this is definitely great preparation for the PGA Tour next year. I was coming out to shoot in the 60s, so it wasn't as if I was trying to protect a lead. I wanted to play some good golf out there. But at the end it wasn't good enough against a guy of his calibre."
The much-anticipated duel between Els and overnight leader Immelman did not materialise after the latter struggled in the late morning wind, while Els was simply on song.
When the wind picked up it seemed Immelman did not have quite the same Midas touch as he did a day earlier.
The Big Easy had picked up birdies on two and five to close the gap to one stroke before a fatal error by Immelman on the sixth allowed the blond former world number one to take the lead, and control of the tournament.
