Ernie Els’s record breaking assault on the Johnnie Walker Classic came to its expected conclusion at Lake Karrinyup Country Club when the South African, who had led from day one, claimed his 13th European Tour title and in the process created a remarkable slice of golfing history.
Already the holder of the low 72 hole record on the US PGA Tour, when he was 31 under par in his victory in the Mercedes Championships in January, Els’s winning total of 259 (-29) was the lowest winning score to par ever recorded on The European Tour, beating the previous best of 261 (-27) by Jerry Anderson in the Ebel European Masters – Swiss Open at Crans-sur-Sierre in 1984.
The day before, Els had also set the European Tour low record for 54 holes when he ended the third round on 23 under par 193, and his ten shot winning margin over the Australian duo of Stephen Leaney and Andre Stolz was also the biggest in the tournament’s history, beating the eight shot win recorded by Retief Goosen last year.
Added to the fact that his scores after each round: 64 (-8), 129 (-15), 193 (-23) and 259 (-29) were, respectively, the lowest of the 2003 season, and his third round lead and winning margin were each the biggest of the year, it was understandable why the 33 year old South African was delighted with his trip to western Australia.
"It has been an unbelievable week,” said Els, whose fifth win in his last six outings saw him pocket the first prize of €251,263 (£166,660) and helped consolidate his undisputed position at the top of the Volvo Order of Merit.
“I had a week’s holiday with the family after the Heineken Classic which was great and I came here really feeling like playing, but I never thought I would end up shooting that sort of score. I am really thrilled with the way it has all worked out.
“I don’t think I have ever played better than this on the world stage and I feel I have stepped up another gear now. But I feel I can still improve and I want to keep working on my game and keep doing what I am doing.”
Nine shots clear at the start of the final round, it would have needed a miracle for any of the chasing pack to overtake the World Number Two and, even after an uncertain start which saw him find the edge of the lake on the third before scrambling for a par five, it was never likely.
A nine iron to six feet at the fourth hole set up his first birdie of the day and when he carded four more in the five holes from the eighth to the 12th, the tournament was over. It was only then a question of whether he could set a new scoring record and further birdies at the 14th and 15th soon answered that question.
The chasing pack played well, indeed all of the top 24 finishers carded rounds under par, but they were mere bit players to the star attraction, a fact acknowledged by one of the joint runners-up Stephen Leaney, who carded 66 for 269.
“If somebody had said at the start of the week I would have shot 19 under par and lost by ten, I would have been pretty upset, but what can you do, I can’t play any better than that,” said the winner of last season’s Linde German Masters.
“I knew we were all playing for second so it was nice to finish round here with a good score especially after I bogeyed the ninth. That was disappointing but I did well on the back nine and I did what I had to do to get into the WGC – Accenture Match Play. That’s the thing that was motivating me all week.”
Joint runner-up Andre Stolz matched Leaney’s 66 for 269 and admitted he was delighted with his flawless final round which featured three birdies on each half.
“I’ve been practicing pretty hard recently but I’ve just been keeping stalling. But my putting helped with my momentum this week, especially in the final round, so I’m thrilled to have finished so well.”
Defending champion Retief Goosen finished alongside Robert Allenby, Jean-Francois Remesy, Justin Rose and David Smail in a share of fourth place on 17 under par 271 and, appropriately, had the last word on the remarkable achievement of his fellow countryman.
“Ernie’s being playing so well that we always knew he was going to be the guy to beat here this week – in the end it was just a matter of how many he was going to win by,” said the reigning European Tour Number One.
