Ernie Els Rallies to Win the British Open After Tiger Woods, Adam Scott Blunder
- Posted on July 22, 2012 at 4:28pm by
Erica Ritz
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Ernie Els of South Africa shakes hands with Adam Scott of Australia after winning the British Open Golf Championship. (Photo: AP)
(The Blaze/AP) — Ernie Els kept feeling that something special could happen at the British Open, and it did.
But only after a collapse by Adam Scott that no one imagined.
Four shots ahead with four holes to play — after eight straight holes with nothing worse than par — Scott bogeyed them all and had to fight back tears on the 18th green Sunday as the magnitude of his meltdown began to sink in.
Adam Scott of Australia plays out of a bunker on the 18th fairway during his final round on day four of the 2012 British Open Golf Championship. (Photo: Getty Images)
Els, who started the final round six shots behind, finished off a flawless back nine with a 15-foot birdie putt for a 2-under 68 that looked as if it would do little more than lock up another runner-up finish at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Instead, he wound up with his second British Open — the other one was 10 years ago at Muirfield — and fourth major championship at a stage in his career when it seemed as though his best golf was behind him.
The celebration was muted, unlike his other three majors.
Watch video of the events, via Business Insider, below:
“I’m a little numb at the moment,” said Els, who was on the practice green behind the clubhouse when he won. “First of all, I feel for Adam Scott. He’s a great friend of mind. Obviously, we both wanted to win very badly. But you know, that’s the nature of the beast. That‘s why we’re out here. You win, you lose.
“It was my time for some reason.”
Adam Scott of Australia reacts after missing a putt on the 18th green at Royal Lytham & St Annes golf club during the final round of the British Open Golf Championship. (Photo: AP)
The wind finally arrived off the Irish Sea and ushered in pure chaos — a mental blunder by Tiger Woods that led to triple bogey on the sixth hole, a lost ball by Brandt Snedeker that took him out of contention and a topped shot that made former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell look like an amateur.
Even those who are not fans of golf can understand Tiger’s blunder.
After making a number of rough practice shots to get himself out of the bunker, the ball managed to go in the exact opposite direction as it was intended, as Tiger had to quickly jump out of the way.
Watch video of the surprising shot, below:
But nothing was more stunning that what happened to Scott.
He failed to get up-and-down from a bunker on the 15th. With a wedge in his hand in the 16th fairway, he went 30 feet long and missed a 3-foot par putt. From the fairway on the 17th, he pulled his approach into thick grass left of the green. And on the final hole, he hit 3-wood near the face of a pot bunker.
Tiger Woods of the US walks up the 18th fairway during his final round on day four of the 2012 British Open Golf Championship. (Photo: Getty Images)
Scott still had a chance to force extra holes with a strong shot into 7 feet on the 18th for par. The putt stayed left the entire way. His chin buckled, and it looked as if he might start crying on the green. He composed himself and mouthed one word: “Wow.”
“I had it in my hands with four to go,” Scott said. “I managed to hit a poor shot on each of the closing four holes. Look, I played so beautifully for most of the week. I shouldn’t let this bring me down.”
Even so, it added another chapter to Australian heartbreak, most of that belonging to his idol, Greg Norman.
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battles
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:13am“Tiger’s blunder” – Are they talking about his unfaithful extramarital affairs here are about something he did wrong golfing?
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 12:55amSo why is tiger woods even mentioned in this…………….
Report Post »Magyar
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 7:11amLike it or not, El Tigre is the face of golf!
It’s a real love — hate relationship with those on Tour and Tiger.
He is not well liked by his peers but they clearly understand golf has enjoyed great popularity because of him.
Report Post »kpeters59
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:49amAre you kidding? Your bias is showing…
Going into Sunday with Tiger in 3rd, behind fewer strokes than Ernie made up in in the last few holes? That’s an exciting weekend of golf.
Do you play golf? Things can turn around in just a few holes.
I’m sorry to say this, but if Tiger wasn’t in it, I wouldn’t have given it half the attention that I did…even though Erica RUINED IT.
-KP
Report Post »nativetexanne
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 8:08pmErnie is a good as it gets and is a class gentlemen, and although I dont know Adam Scott, he seems to be also. Golf is a very humbling game but it teaches us to takes the highs with the lows and to try and persevere. I hope Adam will bounce back and keep coming on.
Report Post »Good on you Ernie, and stay well, and best to your family.
dealer@678
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 9:19pmErnie did what champions do. Only a handful of players can do it when it counts
Report Post »LeadNotFollow
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 7:12pm…
Report Post »I‘m surprised Tiger didn’t yell racism, when that WHITE ball tried to attack him.
Where’s Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson?
riseandshine
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 11:16pmYou are?
Report Post »kpeters59
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 6:41pmSpoiler alert!
Are y‘all out of your freakin’ minds?
Why would you possibly spoil the outcome of this tournament right in the headline? There was NO WAY to not learn the outcome while casually reading the headlines! Sheesh! I had 4 more hours of golf I was looking forward to watching and now you have RUINED IT!
Why couldn’t you put something like:
Surprise golf ending!
Or the like. You’re NOT a sports site. Keep your sports scores to yourselves! I had carefully avoided discovering the outcome while at Church this morning and now you’ve RUINED IT!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
You CLEARLY don’t watch golf! Don’t EVER do that again!
What’s my Tivo to do now? Golf‘s boring enough to watch when you don’t know what’s going to happen…try watching it when you do…I bet this goes in…yea. I bet he misses…darn…
Are you kidding me?
Geez…
-KP
Report Post »kpeters59
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 7:03pmGuess what?
Ernie made that birdie putt…yea!
-KP
Report Post »whatsupdoc
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 6:40pmWoods was never close nor did he ever lead. Where is the mention of Brandt Snedeker who led the second round and finished the same as Woods?
Report Post »Want our country back
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 7:11pmThat was my point reading the headline. It was Adam Scott and Ernie Els…. It was never Tiger Woods.
Report Post »sensibleadult
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 10:02pmI’m sick of the way the media pees in their pants at the mention of Woods. They cannot stand the fact that golf is populated mostly by whites. They want it to be taken over by thugs with baggy pants, just like he NBA and NFL.
Report Post »landman1
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 11:39amBrandt who? He’s a great golfer or else he would not have been in the hunt on Sunday at a major. But he’s no TW. Tiger….love him or hate him.. makes this story a story. Tiger has more than proven he’s the best golfer out there. All his wins have earned him respect regardless of his tribulations and to deny him his position in golf history is disingenuous at best.
Report Post »MeteoricLimbo
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 6:21pmMr. Els is quite a person. Kudos to you and your win.
Report Post »yitty
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 6:15pmGood job Ernie. Your are the boitjie!!!!! Love you and thank you for being you.
Report Post »Want our country back
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 6:28pmCONGRATS to Ernie Els. Before he tee’d off he said “It felt like something really good was going to happen today” and it did for him. (at that point he was down 6 strokes). After playing brilliantly since Thursday, Adam had 4 boggies in a row to finish the tournament.
Report Post »Titainiumman
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 5:55pmGood,Don’t want the mullato to win anything.
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 5:20pmI missed the finish. Good for Ernie.
Report Post »piper60
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 4:38pmI have watched golf all of my life. I feel Mr. Scott’s pain.
Report Post »Want our country back
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 7:15pmYep, I felt his pain as well. It was a great tournament. I’d still be in those bunkers never to be seen again.
Report Post »woodyee
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 4:36pmBLUNDER?!?
Was Tiger wandering the streets in his underwear again?
Report Post »DonaldH
Posted on July 22, 2012 at 5:43pmMore like what he just did at the Greenbrier Classic where he didn’t even make the cut– stayed up all night gambling — reports are, even though he was payed 1 million up front from the resort, he left 400,000 down. He nearly missed his morning tee-off because he was in the casino.. This guy is trash and he has brought the gutter-snipes with him to watch and play golf..
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