The Daily Wrap-up, Round 4: WGC-CA Championship
By Staff and Wire Reports
DORAL, Fla. -- They call him the Big Easy because of a graceful swing that looks as if it requires so little effort.
Ernie Els worked harder than ever Sunday to win the World Golf Championships-CA Championship.
Two years without a victory -- the longest drought of his career -- and playing with all the pressure against a South African protege whom he helped groom for such a stage, Els played the final 23 holes without a bogey on TPC Blue Monster at Doral and closed with a 6-under 66 for a four-shot victory over Charl Schwartzel.
Els looked every bit like his nickname as he sauntered toward the 18th green, raising his cap to the crowd with an easy smile. It was as much relief as it was satisfaction.
"I'm 40 years old. I've had a tough run," Els said. "Whew! The hairs are standing up. It's just great."
He returned to among the elite in golf at No. 8 in the world and became only the fifth player to win multiple times in the World Golf Championships, joining Tiger Woods, Darren Clarke, Geoff Ogilvy and Phil Mickelson.
It didn't come easily.
Els worked on his swing until twilight in the days leading up to Doral, then put it to the test in a final round that was far closer than the margin suggested. Schwartzel, a 25-year-old who took part in Els' junior program in South Africa, never backed down.
"This means so much," Els said. "I didn't think it was ever going to happen again. But I felt all week that the work that I did, that I finally had to trust it at some stage, and there's no better day to really test yourself.
"I just wanted to prove to myself for once. Charl came at me all day. I had to come up with the goods."
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Els was clinging to a one-shot lead when he stood over a 25-foot par putt on the 14th hole, relieved to see it fall on the final turn. It was the pivotal moment in the tournament, the kind that Els had been missing since his victory two years ago in The Honda Classic.
"I basically just wanted to make 5 and get out of there," Els said. "I haven't been making those kind of putts, and you have to make putts like that to win golf tournaments at some point. Luckily for me, I did it on the 14th hole today. And absolutely, I felt a lot better after that. I felt like maybe this one is for me this week."
Els finished at 18-under 270 to win for the 61st time worldwide, and 17th time on the PGA TOUR.
Schwartzel, a houseguest of Els the last two weeks, caught a bad break on the 15th hole when his ball plugged in a front bunker, and he knocked that into a back bunker on his way to a crucial bogey. He missed short putts on the next two holes and closed with a 70.
"All credit to Ernie. He played flawless golf today," said Schwartzel, who earned $850,000 and will be able to take up PGA TOUR membership next year. "I thought I played really good, gave a good charge. I was on his heels all the time."
It was a strong effort by Schwartzel, who has considered Els a hero since he first started playing golf. Despite two bogeys on the final four holes, he was the only player to give Els a run. And he was poised to take him down until his tee shot left him little hope in the sand.
"I plugged and that was a killer," Schwartzel said. "For me, it's been the biggest stage I've had. This is a good day for me."
Padraig Harrington fell out of the with three straight bogeys on the back nine, closing with a 72 to tie for third at 11-under 277 along with Matt Kuchar (68) and Martin Kaymer of Germany, who had a 69 and moved up to No. 7 in the world.
Alistair Presnell of Australia matched the best round of the day with a 64 and tied for sixth. Defending champion Phil Mickelson, who was never in the mix, shot a 68 and tied for 14th.
Els could not have imagined being in the final group at Doral with Schwartzel, and to see the two South Africans standing on the first tee under warm sunshine, it was easy to see what he meant.
To think that Schwartzel was 2 when his father and Els won a club tournament together, or that he was among the gangly teens who traveled with the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation junior team. More recently, Els invited the Schwartzel to stay in his south Florida home while Schwartzel was passing time between two World Golf Championships events.
And they stayed together for so much of the final round, trading birdies and keeping their names atop the leaderboard.
Els made birdie from the bunker on the opening hole. Schwartzel answered with a 25-foot birdie on the second. Els followed with two straight birdies, the most impressive on the 223-yard fourth with a shot into 8 feet despite a vicious right-to-left wind. Schwartzel fell three shots behind with a bogey from the bunker on No. 5, only to birdie his next three holes.
No one else joined the chase.
Els suddenly has good vibes as he begins his road to the Masters, the one major that has haunted him throughout his career. His victory was worth $1.4 million, and moved him past Colin Montgomerie and atop the PGA European Tour career money list with about $33.6 million.
Next up is his charity event Monday to raise money for autism, a major cause for Els since learning his son, Ben, is autistic. Ben is 7, and Els says he is a few years away from appreciating what his father accomplished Sunday.
"We'll show him the tape," Els said. "I think he'll get excited about it."
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| Sunday's Best |
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The 529-yard par-5 first was the easiest with a Sunday scoring average of 4.368.
The 236-yard par-3 fourth was toughest with a Sunday scoring average of 3.250.INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent John Maginnes offers these observations from Sunday. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
Ian Poulter said that he had a nagging neck injury all week at the CA Championship that seemed abate as the week progressed. Failing to break par in each of the first three rounds, Poulter found himself well off the pace going into Sunday. But a 64, tied for low round of the week, had the resplendently bedecked Englishman smiling early Sunday afternoon. When asked about course conditions with the leaders still on the driving range, Poulter predicted a winning score of 14 under. Perhaps a bold prediction with two great champions tied at a dozen under through 54 holes. As it turned out, no one could have predicted the shootout that would unfold at TPC Doral between Ernie Els and Charl Schwartzel. Through 10 holes, they had made a combined nine birdies and had each moved to 4 under, essentially eliminating everyone else from contention.
Alistair Presnell was just looking to enjoy his week before heading back home to Australia for a month and resuming things on the Nationwide Tour. The winner of the 2009 Moonah Classic in Melbourne gained entry to the CA Championship by finishing second on the Australasian Tour Order of Merit in 2009. Sunday was more than just a learning experience for Presnell, it was profitable. The 64 that he fired on championship Sunday vaulted him into the top 10 and paid his expenses for the rest of the year on the Nationwide Tour. When you are commuting to places like Valdosta, Ga., from Melbourne, Australia things can get a little expensive. So far this year, Presnell has already played in Australia, New Zealand, Panama, Columbia and Miami. Can you say frequent flier miles?
Steve Stricker started the week with a touch of food poisoning. His opening round 73 took him out of contention early on. But the No. 2 player in the world managed to break par in each of the last three rounds and finish the tournament at 7 under, one shot behind Phil Mickelson. This is significant in terms of world ranking points. If either Phil or Steve can pick up a win before Tiger returns, either of them could take over the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings.
When Els rolled in a par-saving putt on the 14th from outside 25 feet, he showed a touch of emotion with a little fist pump. As the ball crept over the front lip of the hole, you could almost see Charl Schwartzel shaking his head. The par putt by Ernie at 14 and the bogey for Schwartzel that followed at the 15th were the deciding factors on a well-fought day. In the end, it was Els not only beating a stellar field. Els served notice that he was back and a force to be reckoned with on golf's world stage.
Elias Sports Bureau notes
• Els won the 2010 World Golf Championships-CA Championship due in part to a miraculous par-saving putt of 24 feet, 1 inch on the 14th hole. It had been 14 months since Els last made a par putt of more then 24 feet in a SHOTLINK tournament. In fact, Els has made only three other par putts of at least 24 feet in a SHOTLINK tournament in the last five years.
• Alistair Presnell and Ian Poulter put up amazing final rounds with tournament-low 8-under 64s. They equaled the fourth-lowest final round at TPC Blue Monster at Doral since 1983. The lowest final round belongs to Greg Norman in the 1990 Doral-Ryder Open with a final-round 10 under to win the tournament. Steve Stricker and Chip Beck each put up a nine-under final round at TPC Blue Monster.
• Graeme McDowell birdied five straight holes from the eighth through the 12th hole at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. It was the longest streak of birdies in McDowell's career. McDowell's previous high was four straight birdies, which he accomplished twice: at the 2003 Chrysler Classic of Tucson and the 2009 Northern Trust Open.
• Schwartzel made an impressive showing with his second-place finish at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. He made 19 birdies and one eagle for a career-high total of 20 par breakers. Schwartzel played all four rounds under par for the first time in his PGA TOUR career.
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