CARY, N.C. — Ernie Els birdied the final two holes, running in a 40-footer in the rain on the last, for a 6-under 66 and a 1-stroke victory over Colin Montgomerie on Sunday in the SAS Championship.
Els made the long putt on the par-4 18th three weeks after missing a 2-foot putt on the final hole of the Pure Championship at Pebble Beach to finish a stroke out of a playoff.
“It’s a crazy game,” Els said. “A couple of weeks ago I missed a very short putt to get in a playoff and today I make a 40-footer. Figure that one out.”
Jim Furyk missed a chance to become the first player to win his first three PGA Tour Champions events, closing with a 70 to tie for ninth at 8 under — 4 strokes behind Els. Furyk won at Warwick Hills and Pebble Beach.
Els won for the second time in his first 10 starts on the 50-and-over tour. The South African, a four-time major champion with 19 PGA Tour titles, finished at 12-under 204 at Prestonwood Country Club.
He pointed to putting help from fellow player Mark O’Meara.
“Just by chance I saw him on the putting green the other day and we just started chatting a little bit,” Els said. “He uses the same putter that I use, so we started talking a little bit and I said, ‘Hey, have a look here.’ I didn’t have a great experience at Pebble, obviously, a couple weeks ago. He looked at me, and he’s a great putter, and knowing a man that long, he gave me a nice assist. He told me what he felt I should do and here I am. So, I owe Mark O’Meara.”
Els tied Montgomerie, playing three groups behind, with the birdie on the par-5 17th and pulled ahead with the long putt on the par-4 18th.
“I had 64 in mind,” Els said. “Especially on the final round, the guys, there were so many guys bunched. I was coming from 6 under. I reckoned 14 under was maybe a good score, but then the conditions helped out and it became really tough. So, 66 just squeaked in there.”
Montgomerie, tied for the second-round lead with Darren Clarke and Woody Austin, parred the final four holes — giving himself little chance on 18 when he hit his 190-yard approach 50 feet left. He shot a 70.
Vijay Singh (70) was third at 10 under. Austin (72) was 9 under with Gene Sauers (67), Robert Karlsson (68), Kirk Triplett (69 ) and David Toms (71). Clarke (74) tied for 11th at 7 under.