A closing four-under-par 68 on Sunday saw Ernie Els finish in a share of 12th in the PGA Tour Champions at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa.
Els had given himself a sniff of chasing down the win with a superb second-round 65, but it would have taken sone effort to reel in the eventual winner, Stephen Ames of Canada. Ames carded a closing five-under 67 to move to 17-under and a one-stroke win over the American pair of Jerry Kelly and the in-form Steve Stricker.
Els made four birdies on the front, dropping just one shot on the fourth, and he picked up two more birdies down the stretch on 15 and 16, before he made a three-putt bogey on the par-three 17th.
His performance for the tournament leaves him in sixth place on the tour’s Schwab Cup rankings.
