GOLF:ERNIE ELS claimed a fifth South African Open title after his final-round six-under-par 63 helped him edge out another former champion, Retief Goosen, by a shot in Durban.
Two rounds were played at the Durban Country Club yesterday after rain earlier in the week had washed out almost the entire first day, while further showers in the early hours of this morning delayed play and also made the par-three fourth green unplayable.
It meant that instead of 36 holes, only 34 were played making the par score 69 rather than 72.
And three-time major winner Els, who fired a 64 earlier in the day, followed it up with another excellent display as he carded five birdies, an eagle and a bogey to end on 25 under overall.
He by no means cruised to victory, though, as Goosen rallied late on with four birdies in his last five holes. But the charge proved too late for the championship winner from 1995 and 2005, and despite emulating Els’ 63, he fell just short on 24 under overall.
Another major winner in reigning British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen ended four stokes further back after a 63 in the final round, while rising youngster Charl Schwartzel (64) finished on 18 under to make it a top four for South Africa.
Robert Rock was the highest placed Englishman thanks to successive 64s that saw him end on 16 under to complete the top five at the co-sanctioned European and Sunshine Tour event.
Els, who picked up a prize of €158,500 after securing his third title of the year, said: “It was a wonderful choice to come here. This really makes the year very good now.
“Playing under a lot of pressure, with really good players in the field on a great golf course. It was a great championship.”
The title added to his previous ones in 1992, 1996, 1998 and 2006 and was made even more special considering it came in the 100th playing of the tournament.
Els (41) described playing two rounds in a day during such a big competition as an “incredible feeling”. He continued: “I’ve been playing the game for quite some time, 20 years now as a professional player and I’ve never had a day like that.
“I had a two-shot lead at the start of the day and then after five holes I was three behind and then I was one up again after 18 holes. So it was just an incredible day.”
He also felt that securing an eagle on the par-five 14th hole was crucial in helping him edge out Goosen – a man whose two titles were won with Els as his main final round rival.
He added: “Obviously 14 was a big putt, making eagle there. I knew Retief was going to come, but I never thought he was going to do it at 16 and then he had a great finish. I think right from the start it was going to be a head-to-head.
“I knew Retief was going to be the guy I had to beat.
“Obviously Louis and Charl were there, but Retief was the main one.
“He’s beaten me coming down the stretch quite a few times, so I really wanted to play well. It was really important. He made it really tough for me.”
Rookie Romain Wattel (65) ended on 16 under overall, along with Rock, while fellow Frenchman Victor Riu (66) and Alexander Cejka (65) were a further shot back.
Ireland’s Damien McGrane shot a final round of 70 to finish 18 shots off the winner.
European Tour, South African Open Championship, Durban CC, Durban, South Africa
Note: Heavy morning rain caused a one-hour delay, during which the fourth hole flooded and was unplayable. To avoid confusion, all players were given a nominal score of par. The figure did not count toward the final tally.
(Gbr and Irl unless stated, par 72)
257 Ernie Els (Rsa) 65 65 64 63; 258 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 64 68 63 63; 261 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 67 67 64 63; 264 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 65 69 66 64; 266 Robert Rock 69 69 64 64, Romain Wattel (Fra) 67 66 68 65; 267 Victor Riu (Fra) 68 68 65 66, Alex Cejka (Ger) 64 72 66 65; 268 Robert Dinwiddie 71 69 63 65, Thorbjorn Olesen (Den) 68 69 65 66, Tim Clark (Rsa) 70 67 65 66; 269 Kenneth Ferrie 71 67 66 65, Martin Maritz (Rsa) 67 69 65 68; 270 Tyrone Mordt (Rsa) 73 68 64 65, John Parry 69 67 67 67, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 70 68 67 65, James Kingston (Rsa) 73 64 68 65, Colin Nel (Rsa) 69 68 67 66, Stuart Manley 69 70 68 63, Neil Schietekat (Rsa) 69 71 66 64; 271 Branden Grace (Rsa) 67 69 71 64, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 66 75 67 63; 272 David Drysdale 67 71 67 67, David Dixon 66 69 69 68, Mark Brown (Nzl) 68 69 69 66, Sebi Garcia (Spa) 70 67 67 68; 273 Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 70 70 66 67, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa) 72 67 64 70, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 71 70 65 67; 274 Brandon Pieters (Rsa) 68 69 68 69, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 69 70 66 69, Merwe Bennie Van Der (Rsa) 72 67 69 66; 275 Damien McGrane 71 70 64 70, Justin Harding (Rsa) 70 70 68 67, Jbe Kruger (Rsa) 72 68 72 63, David Howell 70 70 68 67, Warren Abery (Rsa) 68 71 67 69, Robert Coles 69 69 69 68; 276 Dean O'Riley (Rsa) 69 71 67 69, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 71 69 66 70, Julio Zapata (Arg) 71 66 73 66; 277 Floris De Vries (Ned) 67 74 70 66, Trevor Dodds (Nam) 72 68 68 69, Jaco Ahlers (Rsa) 66 73 71 67, Marcel Siem (Ger) 72 69 66 70, Dylan Frittelli (Rsa) 68 72 69 68, Bradford Vaughan (Rsa) 68 71 71 67; 278 Garth Mulroy (Rsa) 66 75 68 69; 279 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 66 71 74 68, Adam Gee 68 73 70 68, Grant Muller (Rsa) 70 68 74 67, Marius Thorp (Nor) 71 70 69 69; 280 Desvonde Botes (Rsa) 73 65 68 74, Divan Van Den Heever (Rsa) 68 73 66 73, George Murray 72 69 68 71, Tyrone Van Aswegen (Rsa) 66 71 70 73; 281 Richard McEvoy 67 72 68 74; 282 Scott Dunlap (USA) 71 68 70 73; 286 Tyrone Ferreira (Rsa) 70 68 73 75; 288 Willie Van Der Merwe (Rsa) 71 69 75 73.
