Ernie Els beat compatriot Charl Schwartzel by four strokes on Sunday to win the WGC-CA at Doral's Blue Monster course - finishing 18-under par and securing the South African his first victory in two years.
The 40-year-old took his 63rd professional win after duelling with Schwartzel all across the final two days; Schwartzel drawing level with Els on seven occasions without ever managing to oust him from the lead. Els carded six birdies for a flawless six-under-66 on Sunday, shooting just five bogeys throughout the entire tournament.
Els’ win propelled the player to the No. 8 spot in the world rankings - and his 759th week in the top 10. No other player has spent so much time in the top ten since the rankings came into existence back in 1986. "I'm 40 years old. I've had a tough run," Els said. "Whew! The hairs are standing up. It's just great."
Schwartzel also carded six birdies on his final round, but the 25-year-old also had four bogeys to come home on two-under-70 for a final score of 14-under. A close friend of Els, who has spent the last two weeks living as a guest at Els' home, Schwartzel said: "All credit to Ernie. He played flawless golf today."
Tied for third place on 11-under were America's Matt Kuchar, Germany's Martin Kaymer and Ireland's Padraig Harrington. England's Graeme McDowell and Paul Casey were amongst those tied for sixth place on ten-under, along with Spain's Alvaro Quiros.
World No. 3 Phil Mickelson finished outside the top 10, tying for 14th place on eight-under, one stroke better than fellow American Steve Stricker, the man who recently leapfrogged Mickelson to take the No. 2 spot.
England's Ross McGowan and Lee Westwood both disappointed, tying for 30th place on three-under. Ian Poulter could only finish tied for 37th, though the Englishman can take some comfort from the fact that he produced his best golf on Sunday, hitting an eagle on the opening hole and following that up with seven birdies (and a bogey) to produce the joint best round of the tournament, eight-under-64. Australia's Alastair Presnell shot the same score to tie for sixth place.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy had another joyless day, racking up his third consecutive round of one-over 73 to end the tournament seven-over, third from bottom of the entire field. Just an exceptionally bad few days at the office, or proof that the 20-year-old's imminent chances of winning a major are rather slender?
Certainly given the choice between putting your money on McIlroy or old hand Els, it's big Ernie who looks to be the wisest investment right now.
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