Record-breaking birthday present for Els
A two and one victory over an under-the-weather Lee Westwood completed with a 20-foot birdie putt earned the defending champion another £1m - the biggest cheque in golf - but more importantly to him, a record-breaking sixth World Match Play title.
It was the perfect end to a week in which he also clinched the European tour Order of Merit for the second successive year and overtook Colin Montgomerie as the circuit’s leading money-winner in history with £15m.
Seve Ballesteros and Gary Player were the two he joined on five wins last year and after moving past them, Els hugged his two children Samantha and Ben, kissed his wife Liezl and said: “It’s a brilliant feeling. It’s been a great run.
“No tournament has ever gone like this for me ever and I’m very grateful. Hopefully I will stay healthy and keep playing it. We live here and this is my true home course now.
“I didn’t play as well as last year. I won a little bit more with grit than with flair.”
Until three weeks ago this was going down as a nearly year for Els. He had chances to win all four majors, but was second in the Masters and the Open, losing a play-off at Troon, and missed out by a single stroke again at the US PGA. He took some time off to get himself thinking positively once more and returned to win the American Express world championship at Mount Juliet.
Now he has a second hat-trick of wins over the West Course, having begun his Match Play career with three successive titles in 1994-96.
“I was complaining about all kinds of stuff and now I am definitely eating my words. It’s turning out to be a great season.”
The consolation for Westwood, who would not even have been playing the event if everyone who qualified had shown up, was £400,000.
He was not helped by a chest infection and a virus which rather than clearing up during the marathon week - he played 139 holes in four days, Els 138 - got worse.
“I didn’t feel too good today,” said the Worksop golfer, who had beaten Els in their two previous clashes in the tournament. “It wasn’t the greatest golf you’ve ever seen and I made too many mistakes on the greens. I tried to fight until the end, but I just ran out of a bit of steam.”
A morning round which contained the good, the bad and the ugly ended all square. Els had eagles at the fourth and 12th, but the first of them only earned him a half as Westwood had followed his seven iron to eight feet with a six iron to five bogeys in the first 14 holes, but the last of those was enough for a half with Westwood missing a three-footer. Then came the ugly, Westwood hooking his drive down the 17th out of bounds.
There was a reason for that, though. “I heard a camera phone go off,” he said. “Phones are banned from the course and so are cameras, so I don’t know why camera phones aren’t. It’s just one of those things.”
Els won the hole with a par five to level for the third time and went two up when he birdied the 21st from eight feet and made a 12-footer for another eagle at the next.
Westwood had come from two down late on for both his wins over Els in 1998 and 2000 - the year he went on to win the title - but this time he came back straight away, almost holing in one with his five iron to the 23rd.
He had a lucky escape two holes later, though. His five wood flew an amazing 275 yards and would have rolled into the ditch crossing the fairway but for the fact that it ended on the narrow wooden bridge over it.
Westwood saved a half in par fours, but could not recover from going over the green at the short 28th and fell two down again. With the next four being halved in par he needed either to make something happen or Els to slip up. Both happened on the 33rd, his six iron to two feet being followed by Els three-putting.
However, he three-putted the next and even though he was favourite to win the long 35th after a superb second onto the green Els delivered the killer blow.
Westwood declined a press conference because of how he was feeling, but must feel only good about where his game is. He suffered a nightmare slump which took him from fourth in the world rankings to 257th only 16 months ago. His comeback began with two wins late last season and although this was his first success of this year he was fourth in the Open in July and joint top-scorer with Sergio Garcia in last month’s Ryder Cup win.
