Els delight at ending drought

Ernie Els was overjoyed to end his long wait for a PGA Tour title when he overcame a three-shot deficit to win the Honda Classic at PGA National yesterday.

Els fired a three-under-par 67 to finish on six-under, a shot clear of Englishman Luke Donald, and claim his first victory since the American Express Championship in 2004.

“I really feel very grateful and happy,” he said.

“I’ve won tournaments around the world but obviously to win over here, it’s been really my goal. So it’s a great feeling.”

Els, who went out ahead of overnight leaders Luke Donald, Mark Calcavecchia and Matt Jones, topped the leaderboard on seven under par before bogeying the 17th.

However, the chasing trio could not catch the veteran over the final holes of a tough course made even harder by the windy conditions as all three eventually recorded over-par rounds.

Donald shot a one-over 71, while Calcavecchia and Jones each recorded three-over 73s.

Nathan Green finished third on four under after posting a 67, while Calcavecchia and Jones tied for fourth with Robert Allenby, who shot a 70, at three-under.

Els gained early momentum after sinking birdies on four of his first seven holes and held on to win despite the dropped shot.

“Chasing you need tough conditions because if the wind wasn’t blowing the leader shoots 66 and you’ve got no chance,” Els added.

“So I was happy that the wind blew and I knew that I’m not too bad of a wind player.

“I’ve played a lot of golf around the world, and obviously the British Open, so I felt quite comfortable with that.

“This has been a really wonderful week, never shooting over par on a very, very difficult golf course. So I’m very pleased.”

Donald dropped off the pace with consecutive bogeys at the 12th and 13th but picked up a birdie at the par-four 16th.

However, his approach to the 18th missed the green to the right and his chip for birdie stopped a few feet short.

“It wasn’t a particularly good third shot,” Donald admitted.

“It doesn’t look like there’s much green out there where that pin is.

“I just fanned it a little bit and it really wasn’t a very makeable chip. I hit it right on line, I just came up a few rolls short.

“It was a good chip but I probably should have got it to the hole and given myself a chance.

“But saying that, I don’t really have regrets about that shot. I have more regrets about the bogeys on 12 and 13.

“It was one of those days where you knew you just kind of had to hang around and it was never going to be an easy day.

“The wind was whipping harder today than any of the other days. So it was a tough day.”

Calcavecchia was level with Els at six-under-par when a piece of misfortune at the 15th cost him any chance of victory.

Faced with a long bunker shot, the American seemed to have blasted out of the sand safely but his ball continued to roll past the hole and towards the water.

It eventually came to rest on a rock ledge and a double bogey later, Calcavecchia was out of contention.

“I hit it a little further than I wanted to,” he said.

“I thought it was a pretty good bunker shot and the thing didn’t grab and went right for the water.

“I don’t know why, too much sand in the bunkers or something. I had a buried lie every spot I could find.”

Jones, a rookie from Australia, was also six under when he bogeyed the 15th before his chances suffered terminal damage with a double bogey at the 17th.

“It was disappointing the way I finished on 17, but overall it’s a good start to the year,” said Jones.

“I got off to a good start and did pretty much what I wanted to.”