KAPALUA, Maui >> No need to wait for Tiger Woods' return from knee surgery to see a dominant performance on the PGA Tour. The Big Easy
makes a big statement
Associated Press
Ernie Els showed off all his skills at the season-opening Mercedes Championships, where he shattered two scoring records, won by eight strokes and invited the kind of praise normally reserved for the world's No. 1 player.
"He's not missing a part of his game," Rocco Mediate said. "What is he bad at? Nothing. He drives it 400, chips and putts as well as anybody on the planet, good iron player. I don't see a problem with Ernie challenging Tiger for the next however many years."
First, the Big Easy will have to wait until Woods returns.
He's in no hurry.
"I didn't miss him," Els said with a laugh after closing with a 6-under 67 Sunday, giving him a four-day total of 31 under that broke the previous tour record in relation to par by three shots.
Els didn't miss a beat.
Winning the British Open at Muirfield, his third major championship, might have been a warmup. Els ended last season at the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City, South Africa, where he demolished the field by eight strokes.
With new equipment, it was the same story at the Mercedes Championships.
Els never trailed over the final 45 holes on the Plantation Course, dispatching one challenge after another. The final one came from K.J. Choi, the stocky South Korean who got within one stroke after birdies on Nos. 10 and 11.
The 33-year-old South African responded by nearly driving the green on the 373-yard 12th hole, setting up an easy birdie. Els two-putted for par from 100 feet on the next hole, then birdied the next three to turn the event into a runaway.
The final numbers were staggering.
Els finished at 31-under 261, breaking the tour's 72-hole record of 28 under held by John Huston (1998 Hawaiian Open) and Mark Calcavecchia (2001 Phoenix Open). He also broke the 1999 tournament record of 26-under 266 set by David Duval.
"I'm not trying to send a message to anybody," he said. I'm just trying to prove to myself that I can play well, just keep improving on the things that I'm working on."
Mercedes Championships
