HONDA CLASSIC: At Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. — This time, Ernie Els could enjoy someone else’s final-round misfortune.
Ending nearly a four-year drought between PGA Tour victories, Els shot a 3-under 67 Sunday to win The Honda Classic. He finished at 6 under, one shot better than Luke Donald (71) and two ahead of Nathan Green (67).
Els and Mark Calcavecchia were tied for the lead as the sun began setting on PGA National. But Calcavecchia hit into a greenside bunker at the par-3 15th, and his shot from the sand looked fine when it hit the green.
Somehow, it never stopped rolling.
The ball came to rest on a rock ledge across the green. Calcavecchia walked over, tossed the ball into the water and made a double bogey to give Els the outright lead. Els parred the par-5 18th, then waited to see if anyone would match his score.
No one did, although Donald had a chance on the last. His birdie chip from just off the green stopped a couple feet shy of the cup, sealing Els’ win.
And with that, Els got the huge shot of confidence that he’s sought for so long, along with his first PGA Tour win since the 2004 American Express Championship in Ireland. Plus, he’ll jump a spot to third in the world, passing Steve Stricker.
Els earned $990,000 for his 16th career PGA Tour victory.
Calcavecchia (73), Robert Allenby (70) and Matt Jones (73) tied for fourth, three shots back.
HSBC WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS: At Singapore, Lorena Ochoa completed a runaway victory in her first tournament of the year, closing with a 4-under 68 to leave Annika Sorenstam 11 strokes behind.
Competing for the first time since winning the ADT Championship in November for her eighth 2007 victory, Ochoa finished at 20-under 268 on Tanah Merah’s Garden Course. The top-ranked Mexican star earned $300,000 for her 18th career LPGA Tour victory.
In an event where only 13 players finished under par, Ochoa opened with rounds of 66, 65 and 69 to take an eight-stroke lead over Sorenstam and Creamer into the final round. Ochoa missed a chance to break Cindy Mackey’s 72-hole record for margin of victory of 14, but topped her own mark of 10 in the 2006 Tournament of Champions.
JOHNNIE WALKER CLASSIC: At Gurgaon, India, New Zealander Mark Brown’s decision to return to golf after temporary retirement paid off again with a three-stroke victory in the Johnnie Walker Classic, his second straight win in India.
Brown closed with a 5-under 67 to finish at 18-under 270. Last week, he won the Asian Tour’s SAIL Open. Australians Scott Strange (67) and Greg Chalmers (68) and Japan’s Taichiro Kiyota (71) tied for second.
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