Just when everyone assumed it could not get any better, Ernie Els continued to astound the golfing world with a performance which shattered records across the board in the third round of the Johnnie Walker Classic at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
The 33 year old South African equalled his opening day 64 for a remarkable 23 under par total of 193, to achieve the lowest 54 hole score to par in the history of The European Tour, beating the previous best 194 (-22) set by Vicente Fernandez in the Benson and Hedges Festival at Fulford in 1975.
Not surprisingly, Els’s performance also set new records for the 2003 season, his opening round 64, his 36 hole total of 129 (-15) and his 54 hole total all being the lowest of the year. He now takes a nine shot lead into the final round, and no-one in the whole of Perth is willing to bet again The Big Easy winning his fifth title in six outings in the final round.
“It is a great position to be in obviously and I am really enjoying the way I am playing,” said Els. “Everything feels good. I felt good on the range this morning but I knew the rest of the guys would try and come at me, that was why the eagle on the third was important – it got me going.”
Els had warmed up for the eagle with a birdie on the opening hole, and he added further birdies at the fifth and seventh to reach the turn in 31. In both the first two rounds, the World Number Two covered the back nine in 29 strokes and although he could not reach such exalted heights again, an inward half of 33 virtually guaranteed victory.
On the back nine, Els birdied the 11th, 13th and 14th before an uncharacteristic fluffed chip at the 15th cost him a bogey six. It also meant he needed another birdie to break Fernandez’s record and it duly arrived at the short 17th, his putt for two rolling into the cup from 15 feet away.
“Everyone assumes this is a nice position to be in, and don’t get me wrong it is, this is what we play for over the first three days to take a lead into the final round,” said Els.
“But it is never that easy and in my mind the tournament is not over. I don’t know how I will approach tomorrow yet – I will wait and see what the weather is like before deciding how we go about things.”
Els might not have been willing to admit the destination of the trophy had been decided but the rest of the field did not share his views, the general feeling being enunciated by Frenchman Jean Francois Remesy who, alongside South African Craig Kamps, emerged as the South African’s nearest challenger, nine shots adrift on 14 under par 202.
“I don’t think there is any way I or anyone can catch Ernie Els with a nine shot lead, especially the way he is playing,” said Remesy, who might have finished closer to the leader had it not been for dropped shots at the 17th and 18th on his way to a 67. “If I finish second it will be a great result for me because I have played well the whole week.”
Kamps, who matched Els’s 64 to move up the leaderboard, played amateur golf with the reigning Open Golf Champion in their native South Africa but it will be different pressures for the 37 year old Asian Tour player when he lines up in the final group of the last round.
“I will be nervous tomorrow, there is no doubt about it, but I will just have to try and keep my eye off the leaderboards,” he said. “Today was probably my best ever round as a professional – I’ve been working hard at my game and everything has come together and I was really pleased with the way I kept it together at the end.”
Four players shared fourth place on 13 under par 203, Australian duo Stephen Leaney and Andre Stolz, New Zealander David Smail and Volvo Order of Merit winner Retief Goosen who, like Remesy, dropped shots on the testing final two holes.
While Els produced the performance of the day, the round of the day came from Australian Craig Spence, who put the misery of five missed cuts on the Australasian Tour behind him with a superb nine under par 63, which equalled the course record set by Goosen in the third round last year, and moved him to eighth place on 12 under par 204.
What is more, during the course of his round, the 28 year old from Melbourne notched eight birdies in a row from the fourth to the 11th, tying the European Tour record and becoming the tenth player in history to achieve the feat. Indeed Spence had a glorious chance to become the first player ever to birdie nine successive holes, but missed his ten footer for two on the 12th green.
“I was a bit nervous when the TV cameras showed up but I hit a nice shot and a perfect putt on the 12th, the only problem was that I totally misread it,” he said. “I read it left edge and it was probably outside right.”
