DORAL, Fla. — They call him the Big Easy because of a graceful swing that looks as if it requires so little effort.
However, Ernie Els worked harder than ever Sunday to win the CA Championship.
Two years without a victory — the longest drought of his career — and playing with all the pressure against a South African protege whom he helped groom for such a stage, Els played the final 23 holes without a bogey on the Blue Monster and closed with a 6-under-par 66 for a four-shot edge over Charl Schwartzel.
Els looked every bit like his nickname as he sauntered toward the 18th green, raising his cap to the crowd with an easy smile. It was as much relief as it was satisfaction.
“I’m 40 years old. I’ve had a tough run,” Els said. “Whew! The hairs are standing up. It’s just great.”
He returned to among the elite in golf at No. 8 in the world and became only the fifth player to win multiple times in the World Golf Championships, joining Tiger Woods, Darren Clarke, Geoff Ogilvy and Phil Mickelson.
It didn’t come easily.
Els worked on his swing until twilight in the days leading up to Doral, then put it to the test in a final round that was far closer than the margin suggested. Schwartzel, a 25-year-old who took part in Els’ junior program in South Africa, never backed down.
“This means so much,” Els said. “I didn’t think it was ever going to happen again. But I felt all week that the work that I did, that I finally had to trust it at some stage, and there’s no better day to really test yourself.
“I just wanted to prove to myself for once. Charl came at me all day. I had to come up with the goods.”
Els finished at 18-under 270 to win for the 61st time worldwide, and 17th time on the PGA Tour. Schwartzel, a houseguest of Els the last two weeks, closed with a 70.
Two share Puerto Rico lead
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Chad Collins birdied the par-5 fifth hole for a share of the Puerto Rico Open lead with Kevin Streelman just before third-round play was suspended because of darkness in the rain-delayed PGA Tour event.
Collins and Streelman, who birdied the par-4 seventh hole as darkness descended over the course, were 12-under.
Birdie binge produces win
MELBOURNE, Australia — Taiwan’s Yani Tseng won the Women’s Australian Open, getting birdies on seven of the last 12 holes for a bogey-free 7-under 66 and a three-stroke victory over 2009 winner Laura Davies (71).
The sixth-ranked Tseng, the 2008 LPGA Championship winner, had a 9-under 283 total. She began the day four strokes behind third-round leader Karrie Webb, who finished with a 74.
The Associated Press
