Musings: Easy does it

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh were elsewhere, but don’t try to tell Ernie Els that his first PGA Tour victory since 2004 is in any way diminished. Judging from his post-round demeanor, winning the 2008 Honda Classic ranks alongside his two U.S. Open titles and his British Open win on the Big Easy’s career ledger.

As NBC’s Dan Hicks astutely observed, Els’ chat with Jimmy Roberts after Luke Donald’s tying birdie chip fell short was more like an Academy Awards speech than a typical post-victory interview. Els thanked everybody but his third-grade teacher and the guy who drove him to the course in the courtesy car. Three years, four months and 29 days of frustration, injury and near-misses had Els wondering if another win would ever come, and when it finally did, the emotions came pouring out in a catharsis of relief and renewed confidence for the No. 3-ranked player in the world.

“We play out here to win,” Els said. “I guess we get addicted to that feeling, and when you don’t get your rush, so to speak, you miss it. I definitely missed winning over here.”

Facing a three-stroke deficit and a course that is one of the toughest non-major tracks on the PGA Tour, Els started hot and held on, shooting a final-round 67 to hold off Donald, who finished a stroke back, and Nathan Green, who finished two back. “That’s as good as I probably could have played in the final round,” Els said. “So it was very satisfying.”

Els got a helping hand from the tough conditions, particularly the wind that was whipping across the PGA National layout. “(When you’re) chasing you need tough conditions, because if the wind isn’t blowing, the leader shoots 66 and you’ve got no chance,” he said. “(A 66) is very doable out here if the wind doesn’t blow. So I was happy that the wind blew, and I knew that I’m not too bad of a wind player.”

Mark Calcavecchia didn’t handle the conditions quite as adroitly. Els and Calcavecchia were tied for the lead at 6-under when Calc’s shot out of a greenside bunker on the par-3 15th rolled past the hole — and kept rolling and rolling and rolling, coming to rest on a rock ledge. Thanks largely to that misadventure, Calcavecchia limped home with a 73, and a player who at one point during the tournament was 10-under par finished in a five-way tie for seventh at 2-under. “Didn’t go my way,” he said. “Wasn’t my time.”

Finally, it was Els’ time, and his timing couldn’t be better, with the Masters a month away. Els is in the midst of a well-chronicled three-year plan to make a run at Tiger and golf’s top spot, and this win could prove to be a key step in that process. Donald thinks so, anyway. “I think he’s one of the best golfers I’ve ever played with,” Donald said. “It’s surprising that he hasn’t won for so many years on this tour. You know, maybe this win will open the floodgates a little bit.”

Bear Trap Claims Many Victims

The other winner this weekend was the PGA National Champion Course. Jack Nicklaus lent his priceless brand to the course by redesigning the layout in 1990, and the PGA Tour made a wise decision in placing the nomadic Honda Classic at the venue in a six-year arrangement that started in 2007. The Tour also designated the Nicklaus Children’s Healthcare Foundation as the primary beneficiary of the event.

Nicklaus’ cachet is already elevating the status of the tournament, and the quality of the course was evident for anyone watching this weekend. The “Bear Trap,” a waterlogged stretch of diabolical golf running from hole 15 through hole 17, claimed its share of victims, including the eventual winner Els, whose bogey at 17 was the only blemish on his sterling round of 67. NBC golf announcer Johnny Miller continually waxed eloquent about the quality of the course, even comparing the par-3 17th hole to the famed island green at TPC Sawgrass in terms of the intimidation of the setting. No. 18 is equally majestic, and it was Els’ solidly played par on the hole that clinched his win.

“Any time you have the Nicklaus family involved in golf anywhere in the world, it’s an enormous thing,” said Honda Classic Executive Director Ken Kennerly said.

It remains to be seen whether Nicklaus’ involvement will draw better fields to the event, but it certainly can’t hurt. Tiger Woods has not played the Honda Classic as a professional, although that could change in the near future.

Lorena’s World

Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer wanted to send a message to the rest of the LPGA Tour that they were forces to be reckoned with this season. Mission accomplished, as Sorenstam won the season-opening SBS Open and Creamer took the Fields Open in Hawaii. Trouble was, World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa skipped both events. In truly Tiger-esque fashion, Ochoa made her 2008 debut a dominating tour-de-force, posting a staggering 11-shot win at the HSBC Women’s Champions with both Sorenstam and Creamer in the field. Ochoa’s 20-under par was 11 shots clear of Sorenstam’s 9-under. Sorenstam seemed reluctant to acknowledge that Ochoa is simply on a different plane right now. “She’s playing well, but it’s nothing I don’t think that’s not achievable by any means,” Sorenstam said. “I think I’m playing as good from tee to green, so I’m very proud of the way I hit it.” Spoken like a true competitor, but not like someone who just lost by 11 shots.

News and Notes

• This was Els’ first win on American soil since the Memorial in June of 2004, making it close to four years since his last win in the states. Prior to the Honda, his last PGA Tour win came in the 2004 World Golf Championships-American Express Championship in Kilkenny, Ireland, in October 2004.

• Matt Jones looks like a star in the making. The 27-year-old rookie was a stroke behind Els when he hit his tee shot into the water at the par-3 17th. His swing earned accolades all weekend from the NBC crew.

• How’s this for speed golf: Yong-Eun Yang played as a single on Sunday. He teed off at 8:03 a.m. and finished up at 9:56 a.m., shooting a 71.

• The win was Els’ biggest comeback of his PGA Tour career. He began three strokes off the lead. Three times in his career, he has overcome two-stroke 54-hole deficits and won.

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