South Africa's Ernie Els fired his second consecutive six-under par 66 to capture the PGA Memorial Tournament by four strokes over Fred Couples and six over Tiger Woods in Dublin Ohio overnight.
Serving notice that he will be a threat in two weeks to capture a third US Open crown, Els rolled to his 14th US PGA Tour title by fending off the charge of both American challengers, Woods on the front nine and Couples at the end.
Els said: "It has been a great week. A hard week but a very rewarding week. Freddie was great to play with. What a great player. I missed a couple shots. Don't get me wrong. But my putter saved me. Freddie pushed me and Tiger pushed me on the front nine. I played well."
Els finished at 18-under par 270 with Couples on 274 after a final-round 68 and Woods third at 276 after a final-round 69. England's Justin Rose was fourth on 277, one stroke ahead of South Korea's K.J. Choi and two strokes better than Canada's Stephen Ames and American Kenny Perry.
Padraig Harrington shot a final round 70 to finish one over.
Filed by Mark O'Neill-Cummins
