Els wins stunning Open as Scott collapses
Source: Agencies |
July 24, 2012, Tuesday
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JUST four months after looking like an "absolute fool" in his own words with no confidence in his putting, Ernie Els sank a 15-footer for birdie on the final green that won him the British Open on Sunday.
The 42-year-old South African completed a final-round 68 at Lytham to win the Claret Jug by one shot after Australian Adam Scott bogeyed the last four holes. Scott joined a list of players who threw away a major.
"Obviously, in March I looked like an absolute fool," Els said. "People were laughing at me and making jokes about me and really hitting me low, saying I'm done and I should hang it up.
"When you've been where I was, you have no confidence in putting, you don't want to have that one coming back. I was coasting everything up to the hole and wasn't giving the hole a scare."
Since then, Els has completely changed his approach on the greens. "It comes from retraining your whole outlook on putting. I just changed the whole thing, mind set, training, everything. And I was really going from a totally different angle, which I liked, because I tried everything else," he said.
Already in the World Golf Hall of Fame, the 42-year-old Els joined even more elite company. He became only the sixth player to win the US Open and British Open twice. The others are Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones and Lee Trevino.
The former world No. 1 said he took inspiration from his autistic nine-year-old son Ben and the "Els for Autism" Foundation he has set up. Els said he felt more settled now the foundation was running smoothly.
"I think emotionally or mentally I'm also in a better place than I have been in the last couple of years with the whole situation," he said.
Els also paid tribute in his victory speech to former South Africa president Nelson Mandela.
"Believe it or not, this morning I was lying watching cricket and I was just kind of day-dreaming and that thought came through me in a split second," he said.
"If I win, I told myself, I'd better thank President Mandela because I grew up in the era of the apartheid and then changing into the democratic era President Mandela was right there. "Right after the change I was the first one to win a major, so there's a lot of significance there in my life."
Woods came undone on the sixth hole when he tried to blast out of a bunker from a plugged lie, stayed in the bunker, and three-putted for triple bogey. Still with an outside chance after a birdie on the 12th, he stuck with his conservative plan of hitting iron off the tee and made three straight bogeys. He closed with a 73 to tie for third with Brandt Snedeker, who also had his share of problems for a 74. Woods had his best finish in a major since he lost to Y.E. Yang in the 2009 PGA Championship.
The 42-year-old South African completed a final-round 68 at Lytham to win the Claret Jug by one shot after Australian Adam Scott bogeyed the last four holes. Scott joined a list of players who threw away a major.
"Obviously, in March I looked like an absolute fool," Els said. "People were laughing at me and making jokes about me and really hitting me low, saying I'm done and I should hang it up.
"When you've been where I was, you have no confidence in putting, you don't want to have that one coming back. I was coasting everything up to the hole and wasn't giving the hole a scare."
Since then, Els has completely changed his approach on the greens. "It comes from retraining your whole outlook on putting. I just changed the whole thing, mind set, training, everything. And I was really going from a totally different angle, which I liked, because I tried everything else," he said.
Already in the World Golf Hall of Fame, the 42-year-old Els joined even more elite company. He became only the sixth player to win the US Open and British Open twice. The others are Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones and Lee Trevino.
The former world No. 1 said he took inspiration from his autistic nine-year-old son Ben and the "Els for Autism" Foundation he has set up. Els said he felt more settled now the foundation was running smoothly.
"I think emotionally or mentally I'm also in a better place than I have been in the last couple of years with the whole situation," he said.
Els also paid tribute in his victory speech to former South Africa president Nelson Mandela.
"Believe it or not, this morning I was lying watching cricket and I was just kind of day-dreaming and that thought came through me in a split second," he said.
"If I win, I told myself, I'd better thank President Mandela because I grew up in the era of the apartheid and then changing into the democratic era President Mandela was right there. "Right after the change I was the first one to win a major, so there's a lot of significance there in my life."
Woods came undone on the sixth hole when he tried to blast out of a bunker from a plugged lie, stayed in the bunker, and three-putted for triple bogey. Still with an outside chance after a birdie on the 12th, he stuck with his conservative plan of hitting iron off the tee and made three straight bogeys. He closed with a 73 to tie for third with Brandt Snedeker, who also had his share of problems for a 74. Woods had his best finish in a major since he lost to Y.E. Yang in the 2009 PGA Championship.
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