Els easily prevails

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

KAPALUA, Maui — Who better than Ernie Els to transform one of the planet's most perplexing games into the Big Easy?

K.J. Choi, right, congratulates Ernie Els, who set a PGA record with a 31-under 261 at the Kapalua Plantation. Associated Press

Golf is not that easy, nor is the Plantation Course. But Els, whose effortless swing and relaxed demeanor has earned him the "Big Easy" moniker, overwhelmed both. It happened in a week where the normally wicked winds went away. So did Els' competition as he played the final seven holes in 5-under par.

K.J. Choi, who closed to two of Els with a tournament-record 11-under 62 Saturday, was one back after the 11th hole yesterday. He ended up tied for second, shooting a 73 to Rocco Mediate's 63. Both finished at 23-under par.

Els closed with 6-under 67, his highest round of the week. His 31-under 261 total broke the tour 72-hole record of 28-under set by John Huston when he won the 1998 Hawaiian Open and tied three years later by Mark Calcavecchia at the Phoenix Open. Mediate, who missed a 7-foot birdie putt on the final hole that would have tied Choi's course record, was second there too, at 20-under.

"Shocking," was Mediate's description of Els' performance. "This golf course, it's not that easy. It really isn't. ... These scores are silly."

It played right into Els' big hands.

"Just perfect for me," he agreed yesterday. "I could really go out there and free-wheel it with the driver. With no wind, I felt totally in control.

"You want to say when you win majors you played your best. But this is right up there."

He had been there before, but finished second and third here in his previous Mercedes appearances, losing a thrilling playoff with Tiger Woods in 2000. This was finally his time, and when he set his game free on the 12th hole yesterday, he was in absolute control.

"I've had some good weeks in my career," said Els, who has won three majors and is the world's third-ranked player. "But obviously, to shoot 31-under par, I obviously haven't done that. Nobody's done it."

Not surprisingly, Els' 3-year-old daughter Samantha appeared more excited than her laid-back father as he came to the final hole. She jumped up and down as he walked down the mountain on the final hole, then ran into her father's arms when it was over and history was made.

"In the long term, yeah, this will mean something to me," Els said. "Right now, not much. But in the long term, it will be nice to tell Samantha and (son) Ben one day. If it holds up. ... It's a nice feeling."

It was nicely rewarded. Els won $1 million, a Mercedes and an invitation to next year's Championships. Last time he teed it up, he won $2 million at the Nedbank Challenge in his native South Africa. He also won by eight there. Since then he has changed all his equipment with the exception of his putter and sand wedges.

He has not changed his to-die-for swing. It held up yesterday in brilliant fashion on the back nine.

"It really makes me feel very, very comfortable at the moment," said Els, who has won seven times worldwide in the last calendar year. "I can go out there and really think about trying to play well in golf tournaments, really look forward to the year now. This is a perfect start, really something I probably needed."

Els actually had moments of doubt during the tournament. He double-bogeyed the eighth hole Thursday and the 53rd Saturday, then was just 1-under through 11 holes yesterday. Choi birdied the 10th and 11th to pull to 25-under and a shot off the lead.

Els put his game back into perfection mode and pulled away. He pitched to four feet for birdie on 12, sank a 9-footer on 14, two-putted from 10 feet for birdie on 15 and drained a 10-footer on 16 to go to 30-under. Birdie on the final hole — he was 16-under on the par-5s during the week — brought him to 31.

Choi went the other way, playing the final six holes in 2-over and finishing with 35 putts.

"When I three-putted on 13 that was probably the turning point," Choi said through an interpreter. "But honestly, even before that, I was having trouble with my putting. I just couldn't read the breaks today. After my second three-putt I felt it was really getting away."

Choi went into the final round eagerly anticipating playing with Els, saying he would play the role of student to one of the world's finest players. Yesterday, Choi's final words were in Korean — "Mahni podoso," which literally translates to "I learned a lot."

So did Els, and it was all good.

"Ernie doesn't miss anything," Mediate said. "What is he bad at? Nothing. He drives it 400, chips and putts as well as anybody on the planet, he's a good iron player. He has been for how many years?"

Many. But Woods took something out of Els in 2000 and again in 2001 — the only year in the last nine Els did not win at least once. Els is the first to admit it and has worked extremely hard the past year to overcome.

"Winning the way I did this year is very, very satisfying," he said. "I told you I didn't think anything was owed me, but the golf course certainly gave me a lot back this week. It gave me everything back.

"Tiger was in total control in 2000. For 18 months he was in absolute total control. ... I played pretty well myself but he definitely shot us all down, and especially me. I was trying to downplay it at the end of that year, 2000, but I think it eventually took its effect on me at the start of 2001. I still kind of had a hangover from the previous year's defeats. I finished second six times that year. But that's history."

Yesterday was more history. It was also a Woods-less week. The world's top-ranked golfer is rehabilitating after knee surgery. Did Els miss him?

"No," Els said quickly, breaking into a huge grin. "He can take another month off."

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