Ernie Els takes Bay Hill away from Tiger
By Phil Sheridan
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
ORLANDO, Fla. - Splish, splash, sploosh.
Plink, plink, plunk.
Six times, John Daly took aim at the sixth green at Bay Hill
on Sunday. Six times, he tried to power the ball over the lake
nestled inside the sharp dogleg. And six times, in a scene straight
out of the movie "Tin Cup," Daly dropped his shot into
the water.
The resulting 18 - that's right, Daly's score on the sixth
hole is old enough to vote - is believed to be the highest for
a single hole in PGA history. It certainly stole the Bay Hill
Invitational's thunder from Ernie Els, who seized the lead from
Tiger Woods and cruised to an easy 4-stroke victory.
Woods was tied for the lead at 10-under par going into the
rare two-round final day of the tournament. With weather causing
delays in the first two rounds, some golfers voiced concerns about
the physical demands of playing 36 holes in one day.
They needn't have worried. After starting the day 2 strokes
behind, Els took control in the morning round and opened a 6-stroke
lead on Woods. Davis Love 3d, the coleader after Saturday, slipped
off the leader board early.
Two-time U.S. Open winner Els, 28, finished 14-under par and
received $350,000. Jeff Maggert and Bob Estes tied for second
place at 10 under.
And then, of course, there was Daly. Trying to resurrect his
game after years of personal turmoil, Daly was in the middle of
the pack after the third round. He began the final round at the
10th hole, so No.6 was his 30th hole of the day.
"I think I lost my patience," Daly said after signing
his scorecard.
Daly remained deadpan as he recounted the history-making sequence,
almost as if in parody of a golfer describing how he made birdie
to win in sudden death.
"Let's see," Daly said. "Driver in the water,
3-iron in the water, 3-iron in the water, 3-iron in the water,
3-iron in the water." Daly turned to his caddy. "Hey,
how many were there, anyway? I had trouble keeping track."
The answer was six. Daly tried to cut the corner on the 543-yard
hole. He reckoned that it was "about 270 yards" straight
over the lake to the green. So he fired his tee shot right into
the water, took a penalty stroke and dropped a new ball. Then
he fired another one into the lake, took another penalty shot
and dropped another ball. And then another. And another. And another.
The deeper he got, the more Daly needed to hit a big shot to
dig himself out.
"I had to keep at it," he said. "I kept trying
to aim it further to the right, and it kept hooking more to the
left. I hit my 15th shot with a 6-iron, and it landed in the rocks
and came back and bunkered. I put the 16th shot on the green."
Daly had a putt to save 17, but missed. After making that 18,
he stepped up and birdied the par-3 seventh hole.
"I needed to practice my 3-iron anyway," Daly said.
"I asked Tom Watson and he said it was definitely the record.
So, hey, I made a record today. I'm not going to lose any confidence
over it."
While Daly was making records, the methodical Els was making
birdies. He had six, against just one bogey, in his first nine
holes of the day. Els putted his way past Woods and Love, taking
a 6-stroke lead by the end of the round.
For Els, it was revenge for a tournament in Thailand in which
he blew an 8-stroke lead to Woods. For Woods, who hasn't won a
U.S. tour event since July, it was a frustrating day just three
weeks before he begins his Masters title defense. After shooting
a 64 in the first round, Woods shot rounds of 70, 73 and 77. The
77 was his worst final round as a professional.
"In a weird sense," Woods said, "I'm kind of
proud of how I hung in. I only hit about four fairways in the
afternoon. I put two balls in the water. It's very frustrating.
I'm not comfortable with my game right now, not after today. I
just couldn't make the shots I needed to make."
Although Els said he didn't have revenge on his mind, he clearly
relished the chance to pay Woods back for Thailand.
"I think there is a little bit of a rivalry," Els
said. "There will probably be more of one after this. I think
it's good for golf."
(c) 1998, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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