Els holds off raft of star-studded challengers to win Memorial by four

ERNIE ELS staved off a star-studded group of challengers to win the Memorial Tournament by four strokes.

Els, who started the day with a two-shot advantage, briefly surrendered his lead after an early bogey, but that was his only blemish in benign conditions at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

The South African roared back with seven birdies to card a six-under-par 66 to finish at 18-under 270, while Fred Couples (68) was second on 274.