A course record of 63 was enough to see Ernie Els claim victory in the Sun City Challenge for the third time in four years. The South African finished a full eight strokes ahead of second-placed Colin Montgomerie with a 21-under-par total of 267.
Els started the final day's play with a four-shot lead over the chasing pack, and thanks to a birdie on the ninth he had extended that lead to seven shots at the turn. The 'Big Easy' turned on the style on the back nine and went on to claim a further six birdies destroyed any hopes that second placed Colin Montgomerie may have held about staging a comeback.
Montgomerie had to settle for second place after his impressive round of 67, with Chris DiMarco three shots further back in third place and the duo of Jim Furyk and Retief Goosen another three shots behind in joint fourth place.
Els was understandably delighted with a victory which saw him pick up a cool $2million. "Today was quite nice. That was probably the round of my life. I don't think I've ever gone into the final round of a tournament leading and shot a 63. I was quite worried about Monty because I knew he was playing really well," he said.
"I was a little bit tense on the front nine because I knew I had to get off to a decent start. I didn't hit a good tee shot at the second hole but got away with a birdie there which set me on my way, but I was still trying to not make big mistakes," Els added.
Filed by Rob Wright
