Posted on: Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Els put talent on display at start of 2003

 • Els' season
 • A look back:2003

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Ernie Els held off Aaron Baddeley to win Sony Open's $1 million prize. Advertiser library

That he played so brilliantly was not surprising. The man with the "totally flawless swing" — Michelle Wie's description — has been one of the world's premier golfers seemingly since his first outrageously effortless pass at the ball.

What was surprising was that the "Big Easy" could be so relentlessly dominant for two weeks on courses so radically diverse. Davis Love III characterizes Kapalua's Plantation Course and Waialae Country Club as "night and day," and illustrates his description with this thought: "You don't beg to ride a cart in the Pro-Am at Waialae."

The Plantation, opened in 1991, is massive by any definition. It sits on the West Maui mountainside with its vast fairways — up to 80 yards wide — and roller-coaster slopes, which beg golfers to go for it.

In stark contrast Waialae, opened in 1927 as an amenity for Royal Hawaiian Hotel guests, is majestic and high maintenance. It sits serenely on the edge of the ocean and forces you to ponder its flat-as-a-pancake possibilities before you pull the trigger.

"Waialae is more classic," says Kapalua's Mark Rolfing, an NBC golf analyst and host of Golf Hawai'i. "There are not a lot of elevation changes. You have to hit the ball straighter at Waialae than you do at Plantation, no question about it. You have to think a lot harder. I'm sure you'll see a lot fewer drivers at Waialae than you do at Plantation."

Even the greens are dramatically different. Plantation's are slower to compensate for all the slope, but, at an average of nearly 9,500 square feet, they are nearly twice as large as Waialae's (5,000 square feet).

"You don't really need to position the ball on the greens at Waialae as much as you do at Kapalua," Rolfing said. "If you get it in the wrong spot on a 15-foot putt at Plantation, it's not a makeable putt because of the slope. At Waialae, any 15-foot putt you probably think you're going to make."

Els is the first to sweep the season-opening events since Mercedes moved to Kapalua and Sony took over the Hawaiian Open in 1999. Doubling up is difficult in the best of circumstances on the PGA Tour. To do it here is going from the sublime to the ridiculous.

"Obviously Ernie was on a roll last year, playing very well. He was going to be difficult to beat at that time," said Jim Furyk, the 1996 Hawaiian Open and 2001 Mercedes champion. "It's rare. You don't see a lot of guys play well both weeks in a row."

It's hard to imagine how they could with such different distractions and demands. Numbers graphically describe the disparities.

Plantation has nearly twice as many employees. It plays to 7,263 yards — only about 200 longer than Waialae — but covers 100 acres of fairway and 80 more of rough. It has 95 bunkers and no water hazards. The 663-yard 18th is the tour's longest hole, with the equalizer being an astounding 170-foot drop.

Waialae covers 27 acres of fairway and 90 of rough, with 86 bunkers and six water hazards. Its redesign in 1999 added length and cut par by two shots (to 70). One of the changes — tournament No. 1 was reduced from par-5 to par-4— became the tour's 26th-toughest hole last year.

What the redesign ultimately did was give golfers with the gift for imagination and shaping shots even more advantage. Last year, Els proved up to the armed-and-adept Hawai'i challenge.

He blew Plantation away with a barrage of 320-yard blasts and a record 31-under par. A week later, he precisely carved out a 16-under 264 at Waialae, then finessed in a 43-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to finally fight off 21-year-old Aaron Baddeley.

"It is very difficult for some players who don't come to Hawai'i a lot to make the adjustments between the two courses," Rolfing said. "The thing about Ernie is, people have no idea how good his short game is. He's one of the best bunker players in the world, but all you hear about is his swing and how far he drives it. I think he's pretty unique."

Furyk, another blessed with the rare skill to win both Plantation's monster conditions and Waialae's historical elegance, says: "The two trips, year in and year out, that are the most difficult transition are going from Maui to Waialae and then playing Augusta (the Masters) and going to Harbour Town (MCI Heritage at Hilton Head, S.C.). They're totally opposite courses ... totally different way to play them."