Steve Elkington was almost certain he needed to make par on the 18th hole today to have a chance at winning the Doral-Ryder Open, which is why he planted his foot into the side of the scoring trailer after his 5-foot par putt rimmed out.

During the hour he spent in his room watching Ernie Els and Greg Kraft try to catch him, he realized something else that proved to be more accurate.

Maybe a bogey on the toughest closing hole on the PGA Tour isn't all that bad.

Despite a three-putt bogey on the 18th at the Blue Monster, Elkington closed with an 8-under 64 and won the Doral-Ryder Open when Els and Kraft, both needing par on the last hole to force a playoff, fared much worse.

"It was never my tournament to start with,'' said Elkington, who came from six strokes off the lead and finished at 13-under 275. "Then I got a hold of it, and I dropped the ball there at the last hole. I was pretty disgusted with myself."

Els and Kraft know the feeling.

Els nearly went in the water and took double bogey when his chip failed to get up the slope to the green. Kraft hit his approach in the water and had to make a great up-and-down for bogey to finish one stroke back.

Elkington picked up his 10th career PGA Tour victory and $540,000. Maybe he can take the money he got for winning to help repair the trailer he damaged after he thought he lost.

"I'm not a club-thrower. I was just a little frustrated. Who wouldn't be?" he said of his brief fit of rage. "I didn't want to leave any crumbs out there."

But he did, and Els and Kraft scooped them up with birdies on the 17th hole. All they needed was a par on No. 18 to force a playoff.

Els played first, an 8-iron from 154 yards that turned left and got hung up in the clumpy rough just short of the water. Needing to get it close to save par, his chip came up short and trickled back down, just short of the hazard.

"I was just thinking to get it on the damn green," said Els, who wound up in a five-way tie for third. "I can't believe the shots I played."

Kraft came through a group later, also in the fairway, trying to stay in position for his first official PGA Tour victory. The pressure finally caught up with him, however, and he caught his 5-iron so fat that it splashed into the water about 20 yards short of the green.

He salvaged a bogey for a 71 and second place alone. That was worth $324,000, just $2,571 less than what he made all of last year.

Small consolation.

"That's going to leave a taste in my mouth I won't forget for a long time," Kraft said.

Elkington missed all of this.

After his 5-foot par putt rimmed all the way around the hole, Elkington planted his foot into the aluminum-siding trailer behind the 18th and stormed off.

"I hit that putt pretty good," Elkington said. "That seemed like the one that needed to be in to knock these guys out.

After his 5-foot par putt rimmed all the way around the hole, Elkington kicked in the trailer and stormed off to his room at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa.

"I hit that putt pretty good," Elkington said. "That seemed like the one that needed to be in to knock these guys out."

He went back to the driving range to warm up for a playoff that never happened. A tour official told him what transpired on the 18th, if he didn't already hear the groans himself.

"How about that?" Elkington said. "Pretty lucky, wasn't it? But I'll take it."

The victory was his second in three years at Doral. He closed with a 69 in 1997 to beat Nick Price by two strokes, but needed much more than that today.

The six-stroke comeback was the largest at Doral since Greg Norman closed with a 62 in 1990 and won with an eagle in a four-way playoff. Elkington looked like he might match that, especially with a string of six birdies starting on No. 6.

He got to 9-under for the day with a 4-foot birdie putt on the 17th, but then stumbled on the 18th and thought he would be fortunate to get into a playoff.

David Toms started eagle-eagle-birdie, dunking it in the second hole with a wedge, and was among those at 277.

Andy Bean, trying to win for the first time since 1986, closed with a 73 and finished at 281, along with Norman.

A victory for Els would have been his second straight on tour in stroke play, having won the Nissan Open two weeks ago. And after working out the kinks on the practice range Saturday evening, he appeared to be well on his way.

Els hit four bunkers on the first three holes, but birdied two of them and was at 13-under after a 10-foot birdie on the par-5 eighth. But he three-putted from about 40 feet on No. 9, missing the par putt from 3 feet, and began to struggle.

"That shook me up a little bit," he said.

Els had only two birdie putts on the back nine until he got to No. 16

Seven-under on the back nine in the first three rounds, Els was lucky to save par, especially after hitting five bunkers in three holes. But he made one great save after another, and finally took advantage of one of only three birdie putts on the back nine with a 12-footer on No. 17.

The 18th was another matter.

"I needed par and I tried to play a miracle shot," Els said.

Kraft should have known better. He was tied for the lead in the 1994 Western Open on the 18th hole, played aggressively and walked off with a bogey.

"Maybe it was greedy," he said. "Maybe I ought to be a little more careful, but that's who I am."

DIVOTS: Ernie Els has broken par in all eight of his rounds on the PGA Tour this year (Nissan and Doral). ... This was the fifth time Greg Kraft has played the Doral Open, but the first time he made the cut. ... Mark Calcavecchia, who finished with a 4-over 292, said he is putting so poorly he may use a long putter. He defends his title in the Honda Classic next week.