How Els soared to record score on back nine

Ernie Els stepped to the 12th tee Sunday with the title in the Mercedes Championships surprisingly still very much up for grabs.

Els had been the class of a stellar field from Thursday's start when he fired a 9-under 64 to join Jim Furyk atop the leaderboard. He added back-to-back 65s, but had lost a chunk of his lead on the final two holes in the third round when he double-bogeyed the 17th hole and parred the par-5 18th, which he had birdied the two previous rounds.

His lead over K.J. Choi, who had ripped the Plantation Course on Saturday with a course-record 11-under 62, was a mere two shots entering the final round.

After a plodding Sunday front nine by both players, Els had built his margin to three strokes over Choi, who was even par on the first nine while Els was 1-under.

"I think we both were caught up into a match play situation there," Els said. "We didn't quite play our games the way we did during the week."

Choi suddenly found his game at the start of the back nine, although he would misplace it again almost immediately. He birdied the 10th and 11th to Els' pars and the lead was one at the 12th tee.

"We just need to step it up, start playing our game, and really go after the golf course again," Els said he told his caddie as they walked off the ninth green.

"K.J. made a perfect start to the back nine, birdieing 10 and 11. From 12 coming in, I started playing my game again."

What a game it was.

Els, who all week has taken advantage of his length on the wide and tightly-mown Kapalua fairways left toothless by the lack of wind, unleashed a monstrous drive that left him a 30-yard pitch to the green on the 373-yard hole.

He birdied No. 12 to build his lead to two shots again. The 33-year-old South African scratched out a testing par on the 13th, while Choi, suddenly bereft of his putting stroke from Saturday, bogeyed.

When Els birdied the 14th to Choi's bogey, the lead was five and the tournament was over except for the formality of playing the final four holes.

Els, of course, finished with an eight-stroke win and a tournament-record 31-under-par total. He also broke the 72-hole PGA Tour scoring mark of 29-under established two years ago by Joe Durant through the first four rounds of the five- round Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

But Els' margin of victory disguises the fact that the tournament was very much up for grabs on that 12th tee. That birdie on the 12th was a huge play, and the par on the 13th was even bigger. Els acknowledged the tenuous nature of his lead after the round.

"It kind of turned very quickly, like it did yesterday (Saturday) afternoon when I was looking like maybe taking a five- or six-shot lead, then I made those mistakes coming in," Els said. "Today it went the other way. I was just trying to grind it out, keep hitting good shots, trying to stay on top of my game. Doing that, it just swung it around the other way again."

It was decisive swing in Els' favor. After Choi positioned himself right on Els' heels through 11 holes, Els played the next seven holes in 5-under, thanks to his booming drives, solid iron play and dead-on putting.

"I felt composed," Els said of his play. "I felt in control of my golf swing. I felt I was putting well. When you feel those kind of things in your game, it makes you feel comfortable. You don't get overanxious. When you feel you're striking the ball well, all those things are there, you just go out and play."

Everything about Els game was impressive at Kapalua. He had lost this title to Tiger Woods in a playoff in 2000, then took himself out of the running in '01 with a par-73 third round. Whatever ghosts from those defeats that might have lingered were long gone by Sunday, perhaps hiding in the same place as the trade winds.

"Winning the way we did this year is very, very satisfying," Els said. "I told you guys, I didn't think anything was owed me, but it certainly gave me a lot back this week. The golf course gave me everything back. Now that I lost by close margins, this makes it feel much better."

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