Ernie Els did his job well (68 strokes) in the final round of the British Open and the Australian Adam Scott threw away his work in the last four holes (two bogeys) at Royal Lytham, so the South African took the Claret Jug, the second of his career after ten years, and the fourth ‘Grande’ on his record.
The collapse of Scott, 32, in the final stretch will add to the videos of misfortunes in the final straights of major tournaments. The Australian faced the decisive round with a comfortable lead (4 strokes ahead) and handled the pressure acceptably until he stepped on the 15th tee.
There he began to dig his sporting grave. Scott, who was looking for his first Grand Slam title, made mistake after mistake. Bunkers, rough, inaccurate putts? The bogeys were adding up on the scorecard.
In the midst of so much united fatality, Scott got one last oxygen ball. The Australian reached the 18th green and left a putt of just over two meters to hole it and, as a lesser evil, get into the playoff against Ernie Els.
Els, 42, was waiting for a favorable outcome while practicing his putting on the practice green. The 2002 Open champion and two-time U.S. Open champion (1994 and 1997) was chatting with his coach, while his caddie was checking the clubs.
Perhaps another mistake by Scott could provide Els with a second unexpected title in his 22nd appearance in this prestigious tournament since his amateur debut in 1989.
At the 18th stadium, Adam Scott looked at his putt, the line where the ball was supposed to roll. He touched the ball with his broom putt but it didn’t even graze the hole. Els was already the champion.
Els, the golfer who broke a world ranking record (he spent 788 weeks in the top-10), became the sixteenth different player to win the last sixteen Grand Slam tournaments, since the title won by Irishman Padraig Harrington in August 2008 (US PGA).
Scott, instead, will move on to the glossary of catastrophes, which refreshed the most recent one that left Rory McIlroy without the 2011 Masters.
His immediate pursuers also fell like autumn leaves on the final day: Tiger Woods melted for a triple bogey on the sixth hole; Brandt Snedeker chained two double bogeys between 7 and 8; and McDowell signed 7 errors and only two hits.
Tiger, however, finished third at Royal Lytham and that will move him up to third place on the world list, which will continue to be led by Englishman Luke Donald, who finished fifth at the end of the Open.
Another good news was given by the Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, ninth finally after an excellent round with 67 strokes (-3).
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