Top five PGA TOUR wins in Ernie Els' career

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Mar. 3, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM Staff

Ernie Els, this week's PGATOUR.COM spotlight player and the defending champion of The Honda Classic, has 16 PGA TOUR wins in his stellar career (and an addtional 44 victories on the international scene). Here's a look at what we consider his top five wins:

1. 1997 U.S. Open

Of Els' three major wins, the 1997 U.S. Open at Congressional is the only one in which he rallied in the final round to grab victory.

Els trailed Tom Lehman by two shots after 54 holes but posted a final-round 69 to overtake the American and win by one shot over Scotland's Colin Montgomerie.

It was Els' second U.S. Open win in four years, as he became the first international player since Alex Smith (1906, 1910) to win the U.S. Open more than once.

2. 1994 U.S. Open

Els became the first South African since Gary Player in 1965 to win the U.S. Open when he won in a playoff over Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomerie at Oakmont.

Els entered the final round with a two-shot lead and closed with a 73. In the 18-hole playoff, Montgomerie was eliminated after shooting a 78, while Els and Roberts each shot 74. Els then won with a par on the 20th hole at a tournament in which the hot weather played a factor, as did Els' hot putter.

"A weird and wonderful week," Els said.

3. 2002 British Open

A second-round 66 at Muirfield set up Els nicely going into the weekend, as he shared the lead with five other players. After 54 holes, he led by two strokes over Soren Hansen.

But Els saw his three-shot lead on the back nine Sunday disappear, forcing a four-hole playoff with Thomas Levet, Steve Elkington and Stuart Appleby.

Els posted pars in the first four playoff holes, and he and Levet went to a sudden-death fifth hole.

Els won his third major with a par out of a greenside bunker, blasting his shot to 4 feet and sinking the putt for the win.

4. 2004 World Golf Championships-American Express Championship

Els came so close in the majors this year, finishing in the top 10 in each one but never getting to the winner's circle.

However, he did win his first World Golf Championships event at Mount Juliet Estate in Kilkenny, Ireland.

He led after the second and third rounds and then shot a final-round 69 to beat Thomas Bjorn by one stroke.

As a a result of the win, he moved into second place ahead of Tiger Woods in the Official World Golf Rankings.

5. 2003 Mercedes-Benz Championship

Els set a PGA TOUR record by winning the season-opening limited-field event at 31 under par (267) at The Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii. That broke the previous record (in relation to par) at a 72-hole event set by Mark Calcavecchia when he finished at 28 under to to win the 2001 Phoenix Open.

Els' eight-shot margin of victory over K.J. Choi and Rocco Mediate was the largest on TOUR since Calcavecchia's eight-shot win.

A week later, Els would sink a 43-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win the Sony Open in Hawaii.