Ernie Els is arguably the world's top match-play golfer. So could he become the world's No. 1 golfer - period - during next season?
"Yes, I think so," said Els, a South African who won the World Match Play Championship for the second straight year with a 2 and 1 victory Sunday over Australia's Steve Elkington.The victory pushed him to No. 2 in the world rankings behind Australian Greg Norman and netted him $270,000, this season's richest golf prize in Europe.
"But I have to get off to a better start next year. At least I want to do better in the majors," said Els, who turns 26 Tuesday. "This is the best I've ever been, No. 2. I'm getting close now. But I'm still a ways behind Greg."
With the victory, the tall, good-natured Els joined American Hale Irwin as the only player to win the event in his first two appearances - and only the fourth to win it twice in a row. The others are fellow South African Gary Palmer and Spain's Seve Ballesteros.
"Consistency probably has been my problem the last couple of years, but mentally I'm getting closer and my game technically is a lot better than a couple of years ago," Els said. "To be No. 1, you've got to feel like you're the best guy in the world, and at the moment I have a little bit of a way to go."
At Las Vegas, his drive had just faded over a desert canyon and onto the 18th fairway when Jim Furyk finally allowed himself to show some emotion.
It wasn't much, just the slightest pump of a fist. But there was still the matter of winning his first PGA tournament to take care of.
"I just hit the perfect drive and I was really pumped," said the normally stoic Furyk. "That hole sets up terrible for me, and to start the ball off over that hazard was terrifying."
A 7-iron to the green and two putts later, Furyk had won the Las Vegas Invitational, the same tournament he led a year ago going into the final round only to fade to fifth.
Furyk's final-round 67 gave him a five-day total of 28-under-par, good enough for a one-stroke win over Billy Mayfair.
"It's incredible," said Furyk, a second-year pro. "It just hasn't hit me what happened yet. I just can't tell you how happy I am."
Furyk, tied with Mayfair entering the final round, knocked it in from a bunker for a ninth-hole eagle to get going, then birdied the 15th and 16th holes to take a two-shot lead.
From there, it was merely a matter of starting a tee shot out over water and fading it back to the par-3 17th green, then sending a drive over the canyon and fading it back on a hole that plays the opposite way.
Furyk did both without incident to capture the $270,000 payday, which more than doubled his season earnings of $265,380 and moved him into contention to make the top 30 money winners and earn a spot in the PGA Tour Championship.
At Rancho Murieta, Calif., as Don Bies got closer to his first tournament title in three years, he withdrew from his playing partners and battled the doubts that had built in his own mind.
Rather than listen to the cheers for Chi Chi Rodriguez and Lee Trevino, Bies focused on his long wait for another victory.
"I rode the cart after quite a few tee shots to get off by myself and not get too much into Chi Chi's and Lee's games," Bies said. "Last year, I really struggled and wondered if I could win again. It took a while to regain my confidence. Even today, I wasn't confident I could win."
Bies rolled in a short par putt on the final hole Sunday to win his first tournament since 1992, taking advantage of Trevino's 18th-hole bogey to win the $700,000 Senior Gold Rush by one stroke.
Bies and Trevino exchanged the lead seven times in the final round, and the outcome came down to a pair of short putts on the last hole.
Trevino missed a 5-foot par putt on the 18th. Bies then softly tapped in a 3-footer to claim the $105,000 winner's prize.
Bob Murphy, J.C. Snead, Jim Colbert and Graham Marsh tied for third at 208 in the tournament sponsored by Raley's supermarkets.