The Open: Ernie Els fights back to claim incredible victory as ‘sloppy’ Adam Scott implodes

By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Published on 23/07/2012 00:00

ERNIE Els claimed his second Claret Jug after capitalising on a dramatic meltdown from

Australian Adam Scott in the closing stages of the 141st Open Championship in Lancashire.

Six behind the leader with nine holes to play, Els stormed home in four-under, holing a 12-footer at the last with his belly putter for a closing 68 and a seven-under-par total of 273.

It looked good enough for the 2002 winner to claim second spot at best until Scott, bidding to make it ten first-time major winners in a row, blew a four-shot lead with four holes to play.

“I am still numb,” admitted Els as he gazed at the Claret Jug during his winner’s press conference. “It will probably take a few days to sink in, especially as I’ve not been in this position for 10 years (he also won the event at Muirfield in 2002).

“It’s crazy, crazy, crazy – a crazy game. To make up those shots is hard to explain. But I feel sorry for my buddy Scotty. I’ve been there before, blowing majors and I hope he doesn’t take it as hard as I did.

“I’ve been on the other end more times than the winning end and it is not a good feeling. Adam has got to bounce back quickly and not let this linger.

“He’s young enough. He’s 32. I’ve now won four majors and I think he can win more than that.”

Els, who will now get the chance to return to Muirfield as the Open champion when it stages the event in 12 months’ time, said “real anger” had driven him to victory.

“I missed a short putt at the ninth and that set me in a different mindset,” he added. “I became aggressive on the back nine, hitting a lot of drivers.

“I was in the moment, for once, and that is a good thing here. If you doubt this course a little bit, it will bite you as there are so many bunkers.”

Els is the first player to win the world’s oldest major with a long putter, having started to use a belly one a couple of years ago.

“I might as well cheat like the rest of them,” he said at the time in reference to the belly putters being anchored on a player’s body, something that the R&A and the USGA are looking into at the moment with a view to outlawing their use.

After returning to the major winner’s enclosure, he said the victory at Lytham had given him the last laugh over the likes of on-course commentator David Feherty for mocking him over using a belly putter.

“In March, I looked a fool,” he said in reference to Feherty, in his role as starter at the Tavistick Cup, a team match in Orlando, saying: “On the tee using a rattle snake today, Ernie Els.

“People were making jokes and laughing at me. So to be sitting here is quite satisfying.”

Scott described his finish as “sloppy” but said he was confident he was strong enough to bounce back from the disappointment. “I’m a positive guy,” he said. “I’m optimistic and I want to take the good stuff I did this week and use that for the next time I’m in this position.”

As Els celebrated his triumph, which followed Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson also using belly putters to claim majors, two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington hit out at long putters being allowed.

“The only reason it got through is that people didn’t want to finish Bernhard Langer’s career,” said the Irishman.

“If someone came up with it tomorrow, it wouldn’t be passed.”