Beware the injured golfer they say. Boy, how Ernie Els proved that to be the case in February. Not that there was anything physically wrong with The Big Easy. No. It was his pride which was hurt and if you are as competitive as the South African, that can be just as painful.
Following his back to back wins in the United States, Els looked am odds-on favourite to notch a hat-trick at the end of January until Liang-Wei Zhang nipped in to snatch glory at the final hole of the Caltex Masters presented by Carlsberg, Singapore 2003.
Ouch! Still licking his wounds, Els travelled to Australia for the Heineken Classic at Royal Melbourne. The course has an illustrious history, having been the venue of the Australian Open on no fewer than 16 occasions. It also saw Peter Thomson, Melbourne’’s greatest golfer, and Kel Nagle emerge as ten shot winners when the World Cup was played there in 1959 and Rodger Davis land what was then the biggest prize in Australian golf when he edged Fred Couples in a play-off for the 1988 Bicentennial Classic.
The bottom line is you never get a bad winner at a course which, even when the wind is not blowing, can tease and test the best. Els proved that for the second year running with a one shot victory over Nick Faldo and Peter Lonard.
Back in harness and with the benefit of a week’’s sun on his back after a family holiday, The Big Easy travelled west to Perth and Lake Karrinyup for the Johnnie Walker Classic. If we thought the performance in Melbourne was impressive, in the words of the old Bachman-Turner-Overdrive Classic, “You ain’’t seen nothin’’ yet!”
The South African did not just better The European Tour record books, he battered them into submission.
His 54 hole 23 under par total of 193 after rounds of 64-65-64 beat, by one stroke, the previous best three round under par score set by Vicente Fernandez in the 1975 Benson and Hedges International Open, and his final 29 under par winning total of 259 was two better than the previous best by Canadian Jerry Anderson at Crans-sur-Sierre in 1984.
He was one shot clear after an opening 64, by halfway he was four in front and he was nine clear with a round to go. It was hardly surprising that the report in the local Sunday newspaper read: “When Ernie Els wins today,” and not ‘if’’.
He carded a final round 66 and won by ten shots, a winning margin which bettered by two the domination Retief Goosen had had over the field in 2002. Put simply, the thousands of fans who flocked to Lake Karrinyup Country Club during another brilliantly staged event had been treated to a display by a golfer completely on top of his game both mentally and technically.
While Els was sunbathing between successes, England’’s Paul Casey took the opportunity to bag his second European Tour title in the ANZ Championship, while the week after the Johnnie Walker Classic, India’’s Arjun Atwal did the same in the Carlsberg Malaysian Open.
Although the award season is traditionally thought of as coming at the end of the year, there was nevertheless time to rejoice for two European Tour Members in February, both the proud recipients of impressive plaudits.
Firstly Padraig Harrington was named the overwhelming winner of a readers poll for the Irish Independent/Jurys Ballsbridge Hotel Superstar of the Year for 2002 while Justin Rose was named Johnnie Walker Young Golfer of the Year for 2002 and presented with his award at a star-studded gala dinner during the Johnnie Walker Classic.
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