Having failed to qualify for the US Masters for the first time since 1993, South African golfer Ernie Els, at 42, bounced back in the most dramatic way with his fourth Major Championship victory at The Open at Lytham. In one of the most surprising turn-rounds in golf, he started the final day six shots behind Australia’s Adam Scott and ended winning by one – ten years after he had won his last Major Championship. Els birdied the 18th hole to finish on seven-under-par, scoring 68 to Scott’s 75.
Els, the 2002 Open champion and the 1994 and 1997 US Open champion, had dropped to 65th in the world rankings earlier in the year. He said: ‘A lot of people never thought I would win, but I started believing this year, getting a lot of help from my family and the professionals around me.’
