Els claims forth Matchplay title

South Africa's Ernie Els, who never trailed in any of his three matches during the week, has clinched his fourth World Match Play title with a 2 & 1 victory over Spaniard Sergio Garcia.

British Open champion Els, five ahead after 14 holes, sealed the win on the 35th where Garcia, in the trees off the tee, eventually conceded the match.

Although the Spaniard managed to recover and reach the 35th green in four, Els was just 12 feet from the flag in three.

The big South African had to resist a brave fightback from Garcia early in the afternoon round on a wet and overcast day at Wentworth's West Course.

But the 22-year-old Spaniard, playing in his first final, lost his way with some wayward driving over the closing holes, having three times narrowed the gap to just one.

"It was kind of similar to the semi-final where I took control early on," said world number three Els, who completed the first 18 holes in seven-under-par 65.

"I could have had quite a lead going into lunch, but then Sergio came back with a birdie straight after and could have birdied the first three holes.

"I didn't feel good after missing a short putt at 14 (the 32nd hole) and my plan was just to try and grind out a few pars from then on. You feel in control one moment and the next you feel like you might be losing.

Els, who won an unprecedented hat-trick of titles at Wentworth from 1994 and 1996, was competing in his fifth final in nine starts.

He now needs just one more World Match Play crown to draw level with the record five earned by compatriot Gary Player and Spaniard Seve Ballesteros.

Els had fired a tournament record 60 in Friday's quarter-finals on his way to a crushing 6 & 5 win over 1999 champion Colin Montgomerie and then eased to a comfortable 3 & 2 victory against Fijian Vijay Singh in the semi-finals.

"It's great to win my fourth title and I'll definitely be back next year to try and equal the five wins of Player and Seve," said the 33-year-old South African.

Asked whether his form had intimidated his opponents during the week, Els replied: "I think the players probably felt that.

"I know when I've played matches against guys not making mistakes, it's tough to come back when you're down.

"I think I just kept on top of the guys. I hit my iron shots very well, I was a bit wayward with my drives but I just tried to keep the pressure on them."

Three down at the lunch interval after carding a 68 to Els's 65, world-ranked five Garcia cut the deficit to two when he sank an 11-foot putt for birdie -- only his third of the day -- at the 19th hole.

The Spaniard remained two behind as the players traded pars at the next four holes, but he closed to within a hole after firing a wedge to two feet for a birdie-three at the 24th.

But Garcia's fightback stalled at the 25th when he hit a wayward drive into a ditch and collected his first bogey of the day after taking a penalty drop.

Els missed the green in regulation on that hole but produced a superb chip for a conceded par to regain his two-hole cushion.

Garcia bounced back, though, at the next hole when he out-drove his opponent by 60 yards, followed up with a wedge approach to 18 feet and holed the putt for another birdie.

But the Spaniard lost further momentum after another wayward drive into trees running adjacent to the 27th fairway led to a bogey-five. Els, who holed a putt from nine feet for his first birdie of the afternoon, was once again two clear.

Garcia's wayward driving over the closing holes effectively gifted the title to Els.

The Spaniard had come back from four down to beat New Zealand's Michael Campbell on Friday and from three down to beat Padraig Harrington in the semi-finals but was unable to produce a third successful fightback in a row.

"I definitely thought I could come back again after doing it twice this week," said Garcia.

"I got it down to one hole a few times, but Ernie was the guy who played best out there today and deserved to be the winner -- he played better through the whole tournament."

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