Ernie Els had two U.S. Open titles on his resume, but that didn’t matter Sunday. He arrived at a defining moment in his career when he made a double bogey on the 16th hole.
The Jean Van de Velde-like mistake on the par 3 sent Els falling from one shot ahead to one shot behind. Coming on top of his collapse during the final round of the Masters this year, Els heard the critics chirping loudly in his head.
“I was like, `Is this the way to lose another major?'” Els said of his thoughts. “`Is this the way you want to be remembered, by screwing up in an Open championship?’ I’m pretty hard on myself as it is, and that wasn’t one of my finer moments.”
Els ultimately produced a better one. He hung on, or, more accurately, survived to win the British Open.
He changed the story line by promptly making a birdie on the par-5 17th, which put him in a four-way playoff with Thomas Levet, Steve Elkington and Stuart Appleby. Els and Levet got through the four-hole showdown at even par.
Els then wrapped up the title on the first sudden-death hole when he made a nifty up-and-down from the sand to save par on the 18th hole, while Levet made a bogey.
When Els, who shot a 70, dropped his 4-footer, he felt a mixture of elation and relief. In his heart, he knew if he didn’t win Sunday, he might never win the one title he coveted the most.
“I guess you can only take so much,” Els said. “People have lost here before, and some people never recover. I wouldn’t say I would be one of them, but if I didn’t win, I would have been a different person.”
Sunday should have been a cruise for Els:
– His main nemesis, Tiger Woods, was out of contention.
– The other contenders couldn’t sustain their moves.
– The weather was ideal, a stark contrast to Saturday’s storms.
– He had a two-shot lead with six holes to play.
A player with Els’ talent doesn’t lose in those situations. But his biggest battle came from within. “Big Easy” looked nervous and uncomfortable the entire round. He talked of a little guy sitting on his shoulder whispering negative thoughts.
“I guess I’ll never get rid of him,” Els said.
Sure enough, the little guy got the better of him when on 16, he pulled a 7-iron into no-man’s land. A botched chip then led to a 5.
Els was shattered, but his caddie, Ricci Roberts, reminded him that the tournament wasn’t over. “I just said, `Look, we can get up on 17 in two and there’s an eagle out there,'” Roberts said. “He just stuck to the game plan and kept going.”
Els settled for a birdie on 17. After making a par on 18, he tried to get ready for the playoff.
Initially, Els said, he was “down in the dumps.” But he finally composed himself after talking with his sports psychologist, Jos Vanstiphout. “He just basically agreed that we had four holes to play, and they were going to be the most important holes of my career,” Els said.
It turned out Els needed five holes. Bogeys on 18 by Elkington and Appleby knocked them out of the playoff, and a bogey by Levet cost him victory.
Els had his opening in sudden death when Levet drove into a fairway bunker. But the little guy popped up again, and Els dumped his approach into a left trap.
Earlier, Els made an incredible sand save for par from a difficult lie on 13. This time, he did it again. With his right foot outside of the trap, he nestled a sand wedge to 4 feet.
“The one on 13 was more difficult,” Els said. “On 18, I had more room to work the ball. I just had to keep my balance.”
For the third time in an hour, Els faced a putt at 18 to win the title. The other two were much longer and more difficult. This one was a simple 4-footer.
Still, nothing was simple for Els on Sunday. “I don’t know how I made that putt,” he said in amazement after it went in.
The winning putt was the culmination of his 10-year quest to win the British Open. He finished fifth in the tournament at 22 in 1992. There had been doubts about Els’ ability to win another big one. His last U.S. Open win came in 1997.
“I sometimes play like a man who’s got a lot of talent and then I can turn around and play really poorly,” Els said. “I’ve got a little Jekyll and Hyde to me when it comes to my golfing.”
Els fought all those demons Sunday. In the end he prevailed, changing the perception of Els. He’s suddenly a major player again.
“Somehow I pulled myself together and made some good shots,” Els said. “I guess I’ve got a little bit of fight in me when it counts.”
FINAL RESULTS
At Gullane, Scotland; par-71,
7,034-yard Muirfield:
x-won on first sudden-death hole after four-hole playoff
%% 278 (-6) $1,106,140
x-Ernie Els, South Africa 70-66-72-70
278 (-6) $452,991
Thomas Levet, France 72-66-74-66
Stuart Appleby, Australia 73-70-70-65
Steve Elkington, Australia 71-73-68-66
279 (-5) $221,228
Gary Evans, England 72-68-74-65
Padraig Harrington, Ireland 69-67-76-67
Shigeki Maruyama, Japan 68-68-75-68
280 (-4) $122,466
Peter O’Malley, Australia 72-68-75-65
Scott Hoch, U.S. 74-69-71-66
Retief Goosen, South Africa 71-68-74-67
Thomas Bjorn, Denmark 68-70-73-69
Sergio Garcia, Spain 71-69-71-69
Soren Hansen, Denmark 68-69-73-70
281 (-3) $78,615
Davis Love III, U.S. 71-72-71-67
Nick Price, Zimbabwe 68-70-75-68
Peter Lonard, Australia 72-72-68-69
Justin Leonard, U.S. 71-72-68-70
282 (-2) $64,788
Bob Estes, U.S. 71-70-73-68
Greg Norman, Australia 71-72-71-68
Duffy Waldorf, U.S. 67-69-77-69
Scott McCarron, U.S. 71-68-72-71
283 (-1) $50,566
Chris Riley, U.S. 70-71-76-66
Toshimitsu Izawa, Japan 76-68-72-67
Mark O’Meara, U.S. 69-69-77-68
Corey Pavin, U.S. 69-70-75-69
David Duval, U.S. 72-71-70-70
Justin Rose, England 68-75-68-72
284 (even) $37,925
Tiger Woods, U.S. 70-68-81-65
Pierre Fulke, Sweden 72-69-78-65
Bradley Dredge, Wales 70-72-74-68
Bernhard Langer, Germany 72-72-71-69
Niclas Fasth, Sweden 70-73-71-70
Jerry Kelly, U.S. 73-71-70-70
Jesper Parnevik, Sweden 72-72-70-70
Loren Roberts, U.S. 74-69-70-71
Des Smyth, Ireland 68-69-74-73
285 (+1) $26,732
Neal Lancaster, U.S. 71-71-76-67
Ian Woosnam, Wales 72-72-73-68
Darren Clarke, N. Ireland 72-67-77-69
Stephen Leaney, Australia 71-70-75-69
Andrew Coltart, Scotland 71-69-74-71
Scott Verplank, U.S. 72-68-74-71
286 (+2) $21,728
Esteban Toledo, Mexico 73-70-75-68
Steve Jones, U.S. 68-75-73-70
Trevor Immelman, S. Africa 72-72-71-71
Carl Pettersson, Sweden 67-70-76-73
287 (+3) $18,962
Paul Eales, England 73-71-76-67
Jeff Maggert, U.S. 71-68-80-68
Rocco Mediate, U.S. 71-72-74-70
288 (+4) $16,223
Warren Bennett, England 71-68-82-67
Mikko Ilonen, Finland 71-70-77-70
Fredrik Andersson, Sweden 74-70-74-70
Ian Poulter, England 69-69-78-72
Bob Tway, U.S. 70-66-78-74
Shingo Katayama, Japan 72-68-74-74
Barry Lane, England 74-68-72-74
Ian Garbutt, England 69-70-74-75
Craig Perks, New Zealand 72-70-71-75
289 (+5) $14,696
Stewart Cink, U.S. 71-69-80-69
Steve Stricker, U.S. 69-70-81-69
Richard Green, Australia 72-72-75-70
Paul Lawrie, Scotland 70-70-78-71
Nick Faldo, England 73-69-76-71
Kenichi Kuboya, Japan 70-73-73-73
Joe Durant, U.S. 72-71-73-73
290 (+6) $13,906
Phil Mickelson, U.S. 68-76-76-70
Jarrod Moseley, Australia 70-73-75-72
Chris DiMarco, U.S. 72-69-75-74
291 (+7) $13,458
Matthew Cort, England 73-71-78-69
Toru Taniguchi, Japan 71-73-76-71
Stephen Ames, Trin. & Tob. 68-70-81-72
Len Mattiace, U.S. 68-73-77-73
Jim Carter, U.S. 74-70-73-74
Mike Weir, Canada 73-69-74-75
292 (+8) $13,432
Sandy Lyle, Scotland 68-76-73-75
Chris Smith, U.S. 74-69-71-78
293 (+9) $13,432
Anders Hansen, Denmark 71-72-79-71
Roger Wessels, South Africa 72-71-73-77
294 (+10) $13,432
David Park, Wales 73-67-74-80
295 (+11) $13,432
Lee Janzen, U.S. 70-69-84-72
Mark Calcavecchia, U.S. 74-66-81-74
297 (+13) $13,432
C. Montgomerie, Scotland 74-64-84-75
298 (+14) $13,432
David Toms, U.S. 67-75-81-75
%%
In doubt to the end
British Open playoffs since 1970:
2002: Ernie Els def. Thomas Levet, extra hole, Muirfield (Stuart Appleby and Steve Elkington eliminated after four-hole playoff)
1999: Paul Lawrie def. Justin Leonard and Jean Van de Velde, Carnoustie
1998: Mark O’Meara def. Brian Watts, Royal Birkdale
1995: John Daly def. Costantino Rocca, St. Andrews
1989: Mark Calcavecchia def. Wayne Grady and Greg Norman, Royal Troon
1975: Tom Watson def. Jack Newton, Carnoustie
1970: Jack Nicklaus def. Doug Sanders, St. Andrews
Hole of the day
18, PAR 4, 449 YARDS
EAGLES: 0; BIRDIES: 4; PARS: 55; BOGEYS: 20; DOUBLE BOGEYS OR WORSE: 4; AVERAGE: 4.289; RANKING: 2nd toughest
COMMENT: This obviously was the pivotal hole. It wound up dooming Stuart Appleby, Steve Elkington and Thomas Levet. Ernie Els, though, made three pars on the hole and ultimately won the title.
