Els returns to the winner's circle at CA
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2010 CA Championship | Round Four | 15 Mar 2010
Ernie Els won his first tournament in more than two years when he ran out a four shot winner over fellow countryman Charl Schwartzel at the WGC CA event at the Blue Monster layout at the Doral Resort and Spa near Miami.
The South African pair, who enjoyed a share of the lead heading into the final round, traded blows for much of day four, Els leading by one at the turn before Schwartzel rejoined him with a birdie at the 10th.
They had broken clear of the chasers although Padraig Harrington threatened briefly, moving within two of the lead when he birdied the 10th.
Both Els and Schwartzel, who had bogeyed the 11th, birdied the par five 12th and the difference was still just one but the telling blow for Els would come at the par four 14th. He pulled his second left and had to pitch well right of the flag. It appeared they would again be level but Els holed from 30 feet for par and retained his one shot lead.
It appeared to be the straw that broke the camel’s back as Schwartzel would go on to bogey the 15th and 17th and when Els pitched to 4 feet at the 17th and converted the margin was four and it was all over.
There was a gap of three shots between Schwartzel and those players tied in a share of third position, Martin Kaymer, Padraig Harrington and Matt Kuchar. Kuchar flew a lone flag for the Americans amongst the top five.
Only three Americans finished inside the top 15, reflecting the changing strength of golf globally and perhaps also highlighting the impact that World golf Championship events such as this have made on the game in the eleven years since they were first introduced.
For Els this was a just reward for consistency in recent months. He has not won since his Honda Classic victory in March of 2008 but the momentum has been building of late and this caps off a return to the level of golf that Els is renowned for. A slight change in ball position resulted in a great ball striking week aided by a very solid week on the greens.
Schwartzel could have been excused for being frustrated by the patronising attitude of the US golf commentary teams this week before they finally woke up to just how good he is and for that matter how good he has always been. His runner up finish will elevate his world ranking considerably from his current 35th and he is on track for a significant elevation in his career.
Although still only 25, Schwartzel has been around for quite a while in professional golf, becoming one of the youngest players to earn a European Tour card in 2002. He has already won twice on the European Tour this season.
The surprise package as far as the Australians were concerned was the stunning effort by 30-year-old Alistair Presnell who was not only playing in his very first WGC event but his first PGA Tour event.
Presnell, who a month ago recorded a final round of 60 to win the Victorian PGA Championship, put together the equal best final round of 64 to finish in a share of 6th and in doing so earns US$214,300, by far his biggest cheque in the game. The Victorian golfer will head back to the Nationwide Tour with a huge boost of confidence although it may be that he earns a start at next week’s Transitions Championship as a result of his great week in Miami.
John Senden and Robert Allenby were tied in 11th position, Geoff Ogilvy was 45th, Adam Scott 50th, Marc Leishman 63rd and surprisingly Michael Sim 68th and last.
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