Golf across the globe: Els, Ochoa return

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Big names Ernie Els and Lorena Ochoa caused quite a stir by their wins but it was Mark Brown, a relatively unknown golfer at the start of the year, who really merited some attention. Just weeks ago he was 322nd in the world. Now? He's in the top 70 and shares an honor with Tiger Woods.

Mark Brown captured a victory at the Johnnie Walker Classic. (Little/Getty Images)

Schedules

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LAST WEEK

Event: The Honda Classic
Sanctioned by: PGA TOUR
• Ernie Els couldn't have had a bigger turnaround from one week to the next. At the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship last week, world No. 4 Els was a top seed and therefore planned to go far in the bracket. That is, until he lost in the first round to Jonathan Byrd. Just 11 days later Els captured his first PGA TOUR title in nearly three and a half years at The Honda Classic.
• Hmm...could this win mark the return of the Big Easy, who used to make winning look easy on the PGA TOUR? Though winless on the TOUR for years, he never lost his spot at the top of Official World Golf Ranking because of a second-place finish on the European Tour Order of Merit in 2007 and several international victories. But with his confidence restored after a victory at PGA National, one of the TOUR's toughest venues, the South African proved he isn't done with his worldwide dominance just yet.
• Other notes from the weekend: Young Nationwide Tour grad and Aussie Matt Jones didn't back down from imposing veterans Els, Luke Donald and Mark Calcavecchia for most of the final round. If not for an errant tee shot that found the water on No. 17 on Sunday, Jones might have forced a playoff with Els. Brett Quigley can now relax since he earned enough money at PGA National to play the remainder of the season on a Major Medical Extension. Dudley Hart and Ben Crane moved ever closer to making enough for their Major Medical Extension as well when they finished tied for 15th and tied for 12th, respectively.

Event: Johnnie Walker Classic
Sanctioned by: European Tour, Asian Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia
• In just his eighth European Tour event, Mark Brown took home the trophy after a scorching back nine 31 at the DLF Golf and Country Club in New Delhi, India. Amidst a crowded field of elite golfers that included Adam Scott and Vijay Singh, it was Brown who won by an impressive three strokes. With his victory Brown jumped from 181st to 64th in the Official World Golf Ranking and is now the top New Zealander in the world.
• Brown's win was his second consecutive victory since he won the Sail Open presented by Jaypee Greens on the Asian Tour the week before. That's not too shabby for seven days of work. His season's earnings jumped to $537,833, enough to make the 33-year-old the leader of the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
• Following his victory at the Johnnie Walker Classic, Brown dedicated his win to his late father, who, in 2003, encouraged Brown, then a disheartened player, not to give up golf. "Last week was pretty emotional for me as you might have seen. I finished on the 18th green, and I was really thinking about my dad who passed away four years ago and I've got that out of my system. This week, to win a tournament of this magnitude is incredible and kind of life changing, so this one is very special, also," Brown said after his second win. "My golfing career has been mostly down, sometimes up, but not the last two weeks. Like I approached this week, it's important to get your feet back to earth and play well in the upcoming tournaments."

Event: Mount Edgecombe Trophy
Sanctioned by: Sunshine Tour
• It was a good week for golfers named Mark throughout the world. Mark Murless made four birdies on the first nine holes to narrow a five-stroke deficit at the start of the final round. He and Darren Fichardt eventually wound up in a playoff, where Murless prevailed when he left himself a one-foot putt for the victory.
• Murless struggled with his driver for two days and became increasingly puzzled when his tee shot at the third hole on the final day landed nowhere near his target. That's when he noticed that the graphite was cracked at the back of the head. "Nothing for it but to carry on," Murless said after his win. "In a sense it helped, because it took the stress off knowing it wasn't me hitting the ball so badly. When we got to the 10th, I realised I had a shot at the title."
• Other notable finishes: Adilson Da Silva is still blazing through a hot stretch of golf. The Brazilian finished in the top 10 for the fourth time in five tournaments at the Mount Edgecombe Trophy.

Event: HSBC Women's Champions
Sanctioned by: LPGA
• Let the comparisons to Tiger Woods begin. In her season debut Lorena Ochoa didn't give anyone else a chance. Instead, the reigning player of the year -- she won eight times in 2007 -- played well enough to take an 11-stroke victory and a spot in the season-ending ADT Championship.
• How's this for a talented pairing? Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam played together in the final group and finished first and second, respectively. Just last year, Ochoa took the top spot in the Rolex Rankings from now No. 2 Sorenstam, who had been the top female golfer in the world for years. Don't cry for Sorenstam just yet -- the 2008 SBS Open winner still leads the money list and ADT Standings this season.
• Also noteworthy in the field this week: Paula Creamer, winner of the 2008 Fields Open in Hawaii, followed up that victory with a third place finish. Laura Diaz, Stacy Prammanasudh and Karrie Webb rounded out the top five.

THIS WEEK

Darren Clarke is gearing up to compete in the Maybank Malaysian Open. (Condon/Getty Images)

Event: Maybank Malaysian Open
Co-sanctioned by: European Tour and Asian Tour
• The man who began the year as No. 322 in the Official World Golf Ranking is now being mentioned in the same breath as Tiger Woods. Why? Because Woods is the only other player to have won three consecutive events in 2008, something Mark Brown has a chance to do this week.
• The event will take place at the Kota Permai GC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Past winners include Thongchai Jaidee and PGA TOUR regulars Vijay Singh and Arjun Atwal.
• Former U.S. Open champion and New Zealander Michael Campbell is in the field along with Ireland's Darren Clarke and young Rory McIlroy. Defending champion Peter Hedblom is back and prepared to challenge for the title.

Event: PODS Championship
Sanctioned by: PGA TOUR
• Defending champ Mark Calcavecchia heads to Tampa with plenty of confidence after nearly winning The Honda Classic last week. Calc and the rest of the TOUR continue the four-week Florida Swing at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course.
• Other notables in the field: Ernie Els, fresh off a win at The Honda Classic; Retief Goosen, winner of the PODS Championship in 2003; and European Tour standout Paul Casey.

NEXT WEEK
• For the first time ever the European Tour will hold an event in Korea. The inaugural Ballantine's Championship, which is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Asian Tour, will be hosted by two-time major winner Sandy Lyle. K.J. Choi, Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie and Anthony Kim headline the field.
• The MasterCard Classic honoring Alejo Peralta on the LPGA Tour will take place in Mexico City, Mexico.

Not playing this week:
• The Sunshine Tour is taking a little break before the Chinama Hills 2008 Zambia Open on March 28.
• It's a relatively slow week for golf around the world, as the LPGA and the PGA Tour of Australasia are also on hiatus. The LPGA resumes next week at the Mastercard Classic honoring Alejo Peralta in Mexico on March 14, while the PGA Tour of Australasia returns to action for the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in Miami the following week.
• The Japan Tour is still on break from competition until Mid April.