By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

With each pressure-filled save of par on the back nine of the Sony Open in Hawai'i by Aaron Baddeley yesterday, Ernie Els' ever-present smile grew a little stiffer, a little less secure.

By that point in a long afternoon that would stretch to evening, it had ceased to be a grin of amusement and became an acknowledgment of the depth of the challenge he found himself embroiled in.

"I thought the kid was gonna go away..." Els marveled.

Baddeley, the 21-year-old Australian they have come to call "The Kid" this week at the Waialae Country Club course, wasn't going anywhere.

Not for a while, anyway.

Not until he had exasperated and tested Els through two holes of a playoff in a way few have in a while. Not until Baddeley had thrilled the gallery with his shot-making, heart and coolness under fire.

Only when Baddeley left on the edge of the cup a 20-foot birdie putt that would have forced the playoff to a third hole was this most dramatic of the five Sony Opens finally over following 16-under-par 264s in regulation.

Only then, when Baddeley, slumped to the ground in resignation and disappointment, head buried in his hands, could Els breathe a sigh of relief.

Indeed, for the one they call the "Big Easy" this one was anything but. In the last six weeks Els has earned $3,810,000 and three tournament titles and this $810,000 installment would be the toughest check to tuck into his wallet.

If Els was, as Baddeley referred to him, "the second best player in the world," then for four-plus hours of championship golf Baddeley looked like the third-best.

"He kept after me; he never let go," Els said. Like a tenacious dog?, he was asked. "Exactly," Els agreed.

When Els finished the third round Saturday just two strokes off Baddeley's pace, the widespread assumption was that Els would shortly run him to the ground and put it away come yesterday.

And, no wonder. Els, 31, had 40 world victories and 12 years on the PGA Tour behind him. Baddeley was playing in his first tournament as a card-carrying PGA member. It would, it was said, be like taking candy from a baby once the heat got turned up on the final day. Wait, they agreed, until the pressure came to be measured in tons per square inch.

When Baddeley bogeyed both the third and fifth holes, allowing Els to pull even at 14 under par, the prevailing feeling was that it was all over except for the awards ceremony.

But Els, who never trailed the final 13 holes of regulation, could not put the kid in the retro purple plaid pants away, try as he might. Twice Els pulled into brief leads and each time Baddeley came back to tie it.

"On the 13th, after I saved par, I saw him smile and it was like he knew I wasn't going to go away," Baddeley said. "I was determined to hang around and try to win it. I was confident I could."

Watching Baddeley scramble to save par with his putting, Els even acknowledged: "I was really watching him over the ball. I was trying to feed off him (from) what he was doing on the greens."

And this wasn't what Baddeley, who missed too many fairways, termed even his "A-game." Afterward, Els would praise Baddeley for his tenacity, his patience and his ability.

"You're looking at a future star," Els said.

Based on this past week, the future might not be all that far off.