Els tops Frazar in playoff
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
Ernie Els opened his week on O'ahu playing a practice round with Hawai'i golf prodigy Michelle Wie. He closed it yesterday with a pulsating victory over Harrison Frazar on the third playoff hole to defend his Sony Open in Hawai'i title.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
A year ago Els, wearing a copy of the green shirt he wore yesterday, defeated Aaron Baddeley with a 43-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole at Waialae Country Club. It came a week after capturing the winners-only Mercedes Championships on Maui. Yesterday's victory was the 47th worldwide for Els and earned him a place in the 2005 Mercedes.
Ernie Els celebrates his second consecutive Sony Open in Hawai'i title with his daughter Samantha. Els earned $864,000 for the win after beating Harrison Frazar in a playoff.
Logically, it should also bring him back to Sony, where he is 56-under par in four starts and has never finished worse than fifth. Just as logically, Wie should be waiting for a practice-round rematch after rocking the golf world with an even-par performance that left her a shot from making the cut against the premier players on the planet.
Els, the world's third-ranked golfer, is at the top of that heap in Hawai'i. After he dropped a 10-foot birdie putt on the last hole to force the playoff, Frazar was surprised but realistic.
"He just hit a perfect putt right in the center, right there," said Frazar, who now has three seconds — and no wins — in six-plus PGA Tour seasons.
When Els drained another birdie putt — this time from 22 feet — to win the playoff at the 11th hole, Frazar was "disappointed" but not "disheartened."
"I think I believe in myself right now more than I have in quite some time," Frazar said. "I don't feel like I lost today. I got beat. I played well. When the heat was on there in the middle of the round, I kind of sucked it up and was able to get myself back in there. In the past I haven't been able to do that. So I think I found something inside of me that's going to help me further on down the road."
He will get no argument from Els.
"Harrison, he's been around a long time. He's a hell of a player, ready to break through," Els said.
Frazar went into yet another nearly windless day at Waialae with a one-shot edge over Els. At the turn, Frazar was two down. He rallied to tie with four consecutive birdies and the game was on — over and over again.
FRAZAR
Els parred the first seven holes and still played the final round in 5-under 65. He nearly knocked an eagle in on the fly at the 12th, then pitched in on the 13th and nearly did the same on the 14th for a birdie-birdie-birdie streak that took him to 18-under and a two-shot edge.
But he three-putted 15 for his third bogey of the week and Frazar caught him with a birdie on 17.
"Right after I missed that putt I knew it was big," Els said. "I had 64 in my mind and I was right on track. With a two-putt there, I have two shots with three holes to play, it's a huge difference."
Frazar was 2-over after eight holes and fired a 66, chipping in on the 12th for his fourth straight birdie. He and Els ended regulation at 18-under 262 after birdieing the par-5 18th hole in different ways.
Frazar reached the green in two. His 35-foot eagle putt to win was three feet short.
"To be honest with you, I knew it was going to be pretty slow and bumpy, but I just couldn't make myself hit it hard enough," Frazar said.
Els missed the fairway with his drive, chipped his third shot to 10 feet and drained the putt just as he had last year to catch Baddeley.
The players returned to the 18th tee for the playoff and this time Frazar drove into a fairway bunker while Els knocked his 3-wood into the center of the fairway. From there, Frazar hit 50 yards short, chipped 25 feet long and left another putt for his first title short.
"As slow as it was going up, I knew it was going to be that fast going down," Frazar said. "I had a real good idea what the break was going to do. I just couldn't make myself hit it there and hit an aggressive putt."
Els, admittedly uncomfortable with his 3-wood all week, hit it off the fairway and into the bleachers on the right. He got a free drop in the high grass behind the bunker and lobbed short of the green.
He chipped to a foot and tapped in for another tie after Frazar missed his birdie. They took off for the 10th.
This time, Frazar found the rough. With a palm branch in front of him and "hard pan" below him, he tried to bump the ball into the hill with his 8-iron and bounce it onto the green. Instead, it stuck in the hill.
"I just didn't hit it hard enough in the air," Frazar said. "I think I needed to fly it another 10 feet."
He chipped 15 feet past the hole and, while Els waited on a 10-footer to win, drilled in his putt for par. Els missed his putt to extend the playoff.
"Standing over the putt, I couldn't help but think about last year when I made it," Els said. "I felt maybe I'm destined to make this putt. I made four pars on that hole with all birdie-able putts this week. And I hit another bad putt."
Frazar charged his long birdie putt on the 11th green but misread the break. Els dropped his putt right into the heart, raised his arms and looked into the heavens.
"I like this type of golf," Els said. "It seems like you're not doing much, just waiting for that one shot to happen, maybe one putt, and it changes your round."
Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.
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