Monday, March 4,
2002
Els survives Woods'
rally to win Genuity
By EDDIE SEFKO
Houston Chronicle
MIAMI — Ernie Els had the misfortune of watching Tiger Woods
all the way around Doral's Blue Monster on Sunday.
Those air punches Woods throws after big putts can get old fast
when you're back in the fairway and your supposedly insurmountable
lead is suddenly surmountable.
But even after Woods took a haymaker at the eight-shot cushion
Els had at the start of the final round of the Genuity Championship,
the big South African was standing. And he says he might not be
going away any time soon.
Els survived Sunday more than he won. But it matters not. His
final round of par 72 was enough to keep him at 17 under par (271)
and give him a two-shot victory over Woods, who rallied as only
he can with a 6-under 66. It's Els' first victory on the PGA Tour
since the 2000 International.
It was anything but easy. Woods birdied the first three holes,
quickly slicing Els' lead to five. After that, the whole psychology
of the tournament changed. Woods was asked if he could tell his
charge had put Els or anybody else that's ever been in his position
on the defensive.
“I'm not in their heads,” Woods said.
He couldn't have been more wrong.
Els knew when his lead dwindled by three less than 30 minutes
after he teed off that he was in trouble.
“He birdied the first three and after that I knew I was in
for a pretty long day,” Els said. “It's not a very comfortable
feeling. It's a little different coming from him than other players,
because he's wiped out leads like that before. When he gets on
a roll, it's hard for him to hit a bad shot.”
Woods got within one shot of Els briefly when Woods reached the
par-5 12th with his second shot and two-putted for birdie. That
put him at 15 under par for the tournament.
Els, playing in the group behind Woods, countered with a 15-foot
birdie putt to reach 17 under par.
“That was probably the winning putt for me in the tournament,”
he said. “I felt like a little bit of a different player
after that. I felt a lot more in control and a bit more steady.
And I played well coming in.”
Doral's Blue Monster is benign for the first dozen holes. But
the final six are tough. And Els parred them all. Woods matched
those scores all the way to the clubhouse. But missing a six-footer
for birdie at the 16th and a 10-footer on the 18th that could
have cut the gap to one shot left Woods with only second place
to show for a wonderful round of golf.
“I got it there with a chance,” Woods said. “But
he went out there and played well and earned it.
“I really wanted to get within one. If I could somehow manage
to do that, it makes that 18th hole a little bit more difficult.”
Instead, Els had the luxury of a two-shot advantage and, after
his tee shot on the tough 18th found the fairway, he was home
free.
Earlier, the rapid erosion of Els' lead looked like it was going
to be historic — in a way nobody wants to be linked with
history.
Nobody has lost more than a six-shot lead in PGA Tour history.
Four times, most recently by Hal Sutton in '83 at the Anheuser-Busch
and Greg Norman in '96 at the Masters, players have been nicked
on the PGA Tour after owning a six-shot advantage after 54 holes.
But blowing eight shots in the final round would have been unprecedented.
When Woods rammed in a 12-foot putt on the par-3 ninth, it capped
a 4-under 32 on the front side and got him to 13-under for the
tournament, three back of Els.
Then, Woods blasted a sand shot to three feet on the par-5 10th
for a birdie. Els chunked a chip and settled for par moments later
and the game was on.
But the final holes yielded nothing for Woods. And Els was solid
enough to hang on for the win.
And considering that Els has won in South Africa, Australia and,
now, the United States in his last seven starts, he feels this
year could go a long way toward re-establishing him as a serious
threat to Woods' supremacy.
Is it a worthwhile rivalry?
“Well, as close to one as you can get probably,” Els
said. “I think last year it was Phil Mickelson and the year
before it was myself. The year before that it was David Duval.
“I figure this year, it's me again. He (Woods) is the guy
out there, obviously. But I feel it's me this year. I only had
four bogeys this week and that's pretty good. I'm looking forward
to building on this and having a good year now.”
Unfortunately for Els, two of those bogeys came in the first six
holes Sunday, which helped tighten things.
But in the end, he survived.
And that's all that really matters.
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