Ernie Els stepped into the weekend as a leader and kept vaulted to it until the trophy was handed over to him.
The third round of South African Open was a combat between the four veterans who belonged to the same soil. Louis Oosthuizen who was slipping back into form, Charl Schwartzel, who was the betting favourite, Retief Goosen, who held the lead in the first round
and Ernie Els, who had won the title four times before.
Els teed off 8.45 am from the first tee alongside Goosen and Romain Wattel. However, this time irons did not prove trust worthy for the Big Easy and the PGA Grand Slam winner dropped three shots on the front nine. Despite the loss, Els did not give up and
wedged his way to the back nine, while picking up five more birdies. The aggregate of 19-under-par after three rounds was enough for him to stick to the top.
Goosen was in no mood of letting the lead slip out of his hand but despite that, Els cooked him with his fiery strokes. The two-time winner of US Open smacked two consecutive birdies on second and third hole, raising a red alert sign for the leader. To spice
it up, he fired three more back-to-birdies at sixth onwards. The crowd cheered, while the cold temperature and rain did not seem to bother them. The excitement did not stay for long as Goosen aka Goose missed two par putts at the opening holes and carded first
pair of bogeys. He wrapped the day with a 66 helped by nine birdies and three bogeys.
Three strokes behind was Louis Oosthuizen who wanted to play safe. Shrek carded six fabulous birdies, against one bogey and capped the day with yet another 67. Meanwhile, Schwartzel who shared the fifth spot with him in the previous round, decided to follow
the footsteps of his compatriot. He compiled an identical scorecard from Friday and settled at 69. A bit of risk-taking attitude would have taken him to the top.
The South African Open entered into the final stage, but there was a slight change of plans. The par-three 4th green was deemed unplayable by the officials as rain transformed it into a small lake. Therefore, only 17 holes were left for the show.
Knowing the fact, Goosen, Els and Oosthuizen fought fist to fist for the lead. The tournament was a picture of birdie from one side and eagle from other as an answer. The trio fired an identical score, 66. Goose teed first and birdied two of the closing
holes after dropping shot at the par-5 third. However, this was not it! The veteran picked up a birdie on the opening hole and wedged one more with a gap of three holes. To eliminate all chances of defeat, Goose pumped a session of three back-to-back birdies
on the last holes and capped the day with a 66.
Meanwhile, Shrek unfold his fiery wings and fired six birdies without a loss in the 17-hole session. This pushed him up the leader board but not for long. Els waited for his turn and bombarded the scorecard with five birdies and one eagle, claiming the fifth
South African Open trophy of the year.
While talking to the press Els said, “It was one of the most incredible days I've ever had in my 20 years as a professional golfer. In the morning round, we shot a better-ball score of something like 58 and the lead changed hands quite a few times. This
win really means a lot to me. Sunday was (always) going to be a long day but I was looking forward to another battle with my old friend Retief. He's a great player and I knew he would come at me hard."
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