Although Ernie Els took his 54-hole total to 16-under-par with a six-under-par 66 on Saturday in the final round of the PGA Tour Champions Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in Hawaii, like everyone else in the field, he was never going to catch the winner.
The Big Easy’s rounds of 66-68-66 saw him finish in a share of sixth, seven shots behind Steve Stricker. Stricker closed with a 65 after a second-round 60 had pushed him well clear of the field. He eventually won by six from New Zealand’s Steven Alker, Canadian Masters champion Mike Weir, Ken Tanigawa of the United States and Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke.
Els made three birdies without dropping a shot on the front nine, and then he made four on the homeward nine, with just a single dropped shot coming on the 11th. He shared sixth with American Kevin Sutherland and Alex Cejka of Germany.
Retief Goosen and David Frost finished in a share of 32nd on four-under after each closed with a one-over-par 73.
