Els hangs on to win Honda Classic

PALM BEACH GARDENS – Ending nearly a four-year drought between PGA Tour victories, Ernie Els shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday to win The Honda Classic.

He finished at 6 under, one shot better than Donald (71) and two ahead of Nathan Green (67). Els got the huge shot of confidence that he’s sought for so long, along with his first PGA Tour win in 47 starts since the 2004 American Express Championship in Ireland.Plus, he’ll jump a spot to third in the world rankings, passing Steve Stricker.”To win over here, it’s been really my goal,” Els said.”So it’s a great feeling.”One errant shot, and Mark Calcavecchia couldn’t say the same.He and Els were tied for the lead as the sun began setting on PGA National.But Calcavecchia hit into a greenside bunker at the par-3 15th, and his shot from the sand looked fine when it hit the green.Somehow, it never stopped rolling.”I certainly never dreamed it would run into the water,” Calcavecchia said.It didn’t run into the water.He threw it there.The ball came to rest on a rock ledge across the green, and when Calcavecchia walked over to survey the damage, he picked it up from the unplayable spot and gave it a frustrated toss.”It looked like he played it like he wanted to,” Calcavecchia’s playing partner, Luke Donald said.A double bogey went on the card, Els had the outright lead, and he took advantage.He made a cool par on the par-5 finishing hole, then waited to see if anyone would match his score.Donald made a 35-foot birdie at the 16th to get within one, but got no closer, although his birdie chip on the last hole stopped just shy of the cup.With that, Els stopping hitting balls and slipped on his watch, basking in a winning feeling again.”That’s as good as I probably could have played in the final round,” Els said.”So it was very satisfying.”Els won N$7,5 million for his 16th career PGA Tour victory.Nampa-APEls got the huge shot of confidence that he’s sought for so long, along with his first PGA Tour win in 47 starts since the 2004 American Express Championship in Ireland.Plus, he’ll jump a spot to third in the world rankings, passing Steve Stricker.”To win over here, it’s been really my goal,” Els said.”So it’s a great feeling.”One errant shot, and Mark Calcavecchia couldn’t say the same.He and Els were tied for the lead as the sun began setting on PGA National.But Calcavecchia hit into a greenside bunker at the par-3 15th, and his shot from the sand looked fine when it hit the green.Somehow, it never stopped rolling.”I certainly never dreamed it would run into the water,” Calcavecchia said.It didn’t run into the water.He threw it there.The ball came to rest on a rock ledge across the green, and when Calcavecchia walked over to survey the damage, he picked it up from the unplayable spot and gave it a frustrated toss.”It looked like he played it like he wanted to,” Calcavecchia’s playing partner, Luke Donald said.A double bogey went on the card, Els had the outright lead, and he took advantage.He made a cool par on the par-5 finishing hole, then waited to see if anyone would match his score.Donald made a 35-foot birdie at the 16th to get within one, but got no closer, although his birdie chip on the last hole stopped just shy of the cup.With that, Els stopping hitting balls and slipped on his watch, basking in a winning feeling again.”That’s as good as I probably could have played in the final round,” Els said.”So it was very satisfying.”Els won N$7,5 million for his 16th career PGA Tour victory.Nampa-AP