It didn't seem likely at the start of the day. Six shots back of Adam Scott when he teed off on Sunday afternoon, Ernie Els' chances of taking home his fourth major championship title were slim. The way Scott was playing coming into the final round, Els knew the only way he was walking away with the Claret Jug was with a brilliant round ... and a little bit of help from the Aussie.
He got both on Sunday afternoon, as Els rolled in a birdie putt on the 18th hole to the deficit to one, and then watched Scott completely unravel over the final four holes to hand the South African his second Claret Jug.
"I feel for him," Els said of Scott after his round. "I'm numb. Later on it will set in that I won this golf tournament, but right now I really feel for my buddy. He's such a great guy. He's so close to being such a great superstar. I know that's not the way he wanted to lose a tournament. I feel very fortunate, but I feel very bad for Adam today. "
Els looked in a state of complete shock after his round, sharing a hug with a caddie as he tried to take in the magnitude of the situation. The win now puts Els in rare company as one of only a handful of players to win a major in three difference decades.
With the exception of David Duval, who won at Royal Lytham back in 2001, nobody had more history at this course than Els. He finished T-2 (1996) and T-3 (2001) the last two times Royal Lytham British Open hosted the British Open, which led people to believe he was going to be a factor this week.
Through three rounds he
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