Ernie Els, commonly known as the Big Easy, took the CA Championship on Sunday at Doral, Florida. Els hasn't won a tournament in two years, but he came out victorious, ending with 6-under 66 and a 4-shot lead against player #2 in the tournament, Charl Schwartzel, his protégée and houseguest.
Els' nickname comes from the easy way he swings a club, making it look as if no effort has gone into it. But this year's victory didn't come easy. The 40-year-old fought hard for the comeback win, and put himself back at number 8 in the sport. He's now one of only a handful of players in the world to win World Championships more than once, joining the likes of Geoff Ogilvy, Phil Mickelson, Darren Clarke and Tiger Woods.
Charl Schwartzel, the 25-year-old South African who placed number 2, was a member of Els' junior golfing program and has been staying with Els for the last 2 weeks. He was as happy about Els victory as Els was, though he fought for the #1 spot long and hard and didn't give Els any reason to think it was going to be easy to beat him. He ended the tourney at 18-under 270, giving him a top score for the 61st time, and marking his 17th appearance in a PGA event.
Els was only ahead by one by the time he'd reached the 14th hole. He faced a par putt 25-feet away from the hole, which is the kind of shot he hasn't been good at landing over the last 2 years. But this time Els sank the putt, and managed not to bogey at all for the rest of the round. He admits that sinking #14 gave him the confidence boost he needed.
Schwartzel, only one shot behind, got his ball into a bunker on hole 15 and then hit another bunker returning it back for a bogey. Two more putting misses in a row left him at number 2. He credits his mentor for playing flawless golf and says that he played well and was on Els' heels the whole time. He's long considered Els a hero of his, and ironically was the only player in this tournament that even challenged the leader.
Els played with Schwartzel's father, even winning a doubles championship with him, and Schwartzel has looked up to him his entire life, later joining the Els & Fancourt Foundation team for teenagers and traveling with them to play golf. It's ironic that these two with such a history together, and with Schwartzel even staying with Els for a couple of weeks, dominated the top of leaderboard.
Things didn't look good for Els from the beginning after he shot the ball into a bunker on the first hole and still managed to birdie. Schwartzel birdied his second hole, and then Else managed two more consecutively. A bogey on Number 5 put Schwartzel behind by 3 shots, but he caught up with more consecutive birdies, and didn't slip again until the 15th hole.
Padraig Harrington tied for 3rd place with Martin Kaymer and Matt Kuchar. Alistair Presnell managed the best round on Sunday but ended in a tie for 6th place. Top golfer Phil Mickelson never offered Els a challenge and tied in 14th place.
Photo Credits: shareski
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