Golf: Els flops as McCarron cleans up

Ernie Els had his second worst score in nearly 450 rounds on the US Tour today as American Scott McCarron won the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta.

Mon, 02 Apr, 2001 - 08:06

Ernie Els had his second worst score in nearly 450 rounds on the US Tour today as American Scott McCarron won the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta.

On the eve of the Masters, world number three Els posted rounds of 81 and 73 as the £2m event crammed in 36 holes to make up for the loss of Thursday’s play to rain.

‘‘That tested my patience to the limit,’’ said the South African, his confidence battered again by the wind after three weeks in which he has broken 70 only once.

Els finished the tournament on the seven-over-par total of 295 and, while he flew back to Orlando for a day’s rest before turning his attentions to Augusta, McCarron collected the £427,000 title for the second time in five years.

Not in the Masters field this time Augusta National have controversially dropped the rule whereby all US Tour winners qualify McCarron needed only to shoot 72 and 73 to cruise home.

His eight-under-par total of 280 left him three ahead of Canadian left-hander Mike Weir. Defending champion Phil Mickelson was in a group a stroke further back.

A Saturday 67 had given Els a real boost to his morale, but that was all undone in the windswept conditions when he teed off again at just after 8am.

‘‘It was 40 degrees and I never got warmed up hey, that’s my excuse,’’ he commented, managing a smile. ‘‘Are we in Siberia?

‘‘I never got into a rhythm and went from bad to worse. Now I’ve got to learn from it.

‘‘I thought I had things all worked out (he has changed his grip in the last week), but man, I don’t think I’ve ever had a tougher time selecting clubs.

‘‘But it’s only Sunday and the Masters is not until Thursday.’’

His only higher round in America was an 84 in the 1993 Honda Classic.

McCarron, two ahead after the third round, held a six-stroke lead with seven to play, but bogeyed the 12th, 13th and 15th to see it cut to two.

Then, however, came a 30-foot birdie putt on the short 16th and he safely parred the last two.

The conditions blew Swede Pierre Fulke, Europe’s leading money-winner this season, to rounds of 78 and 77 on his US Tour debut and at eight over he was one of the few players to finish behind Els.

Jesper Parnevik finished on one over and Jose Maria Olazabal, the only other European to survive the halfway cut, closed with a disappointing 77 for three over.

At the start of the concluding 18 holes it was still touch-and-go whether the last few groups would finish before nightfall. Their third round took five-and-a-half hours and their fourth round tee-off time had to be put back 40 minutes.

Then, however, there seemed a concerted effort from the whole field to get done tonight rather than return in the morning. And they just succeeded.

South African Retief Goosen managed only two of the 36 holes before retiring with a chest muscle injury.

One under par at halfway, he suffered the injury on the driving range and was really struggling as he bogeyed the first and parred the second.

On teeing off from the third he let out a yell and, with the Masters so imminent, decided to return to the clubhouse for treatment.

Leading final positions in the BellSouth Classic at TPC at Sugarloaf, Atlanta, Georgia, (USA unless stated, par 72):

8 under Scott McCarron

5 under Mike Weir (Can)

4 under Chris Smith

Phil Mickelson

DennisPaulson

3 under Stewart Cink

Mathew Goggin (Aus)