GOLF: As A storm brewed overhead, Ernie Els completed another electric display at the Johnnie Walker Classic to land his fourth title in five incredible weeks.
The thunder and lightning over Perth held off long enough for Els to shoot a final round of 66 to win by an emphatic 10 shots with a record-breaking 29-under-par.
In 13 years as a professional Els has never played better than he has this year and the records are beginning to tumble. His 2003 season began with victory at the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii, which he clinched with a USPGA Tour record score of 31-under-par.
And yesterday he set a new mark for the European and Asian tours, beating the respective records of 27-under-par with another wire-to-wire victory.
"It has been an unbelievable week. We came in after a nice week's holiday and I felt like playing, but I never thought I would be shooting that kind of score," he said as the thunder rumbled and heavens opened.
"I had a great time. The greens are soft, the wind stayed away all week and I could just go out there and attack the golf course.
"The way I am playing now is some of the best golf I have ever played. The whole package is pretty good at the moment."
Els's nearest rivals were Australians Stephen Leaney and Andre Stolz, who finished tied for second on 19-under for the tournament.
Ireland's Paul McGinley added a final round 70 to finish on 276, some 17 shots behind Els.
From the first morning, when Els scorched the back nine in just 29 strokes, he was unstoppable, extending his cushion at the top of the board with each passing round.
He saved par with a brilliant recovery from the banks of the lake on the third hole and had picked up one shot by the time he entered the back nine.
He picked up another five shots to finish an incredible 22-under-par for the 36 holes played.
The jostling for position behind Els was intense but in the final shake-up it was Leaney and Stolz who shared second place after both carded 66s.
"I am very pleased," said Leaney, the German Masters champion.
"If somebody had said at the start of the week I would have shot 19-under-par and lost by 10 I would have been pretty upset, but what can you do? I can't play any better than that."
Two shots back, five players tied for fourth on 17-under-par, including defending champion Retief Goosen.
Goosen was disappointed to relinquish his title with an "inconsistent" performance but England's Justin Rose, who made a late dash up the leaderboard, was delighted with his third consecutive top 10 finish.
The 22-year-old had been named as the Johnnie Walker Young Player of the Year the previous night and proved the panel made the right decision with a 65.
Also on minus 17 were Australia's Robert Allenby, New Zealander David Smail and Jean-Francois Remesy of France, who dropped two shots on the last three holes. Remesy had been tied for second after 54 holes, but had already conceded Els was well out of sight.
Els's recent form reads five victories and a second place in his last six tournaments, stretching back to the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa before Christmas.
His four titles in five weeks have earned Els £1.43 million.
259 Ernie Els (Rsa) 64 65 64 66.
269 Stephen Leaney (Aus) 68 67 68 66, Andre Stolz (Aus) 68 68 67 66.
271 Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 68 67 67 69, David Smail (Nzl), 68 71 64 68, Justin Rose (Bri) 68 69 69 65, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 72 65 66 68, Robert Allenby (Aus) 69 64 72 66.
272 Craig Kamps (Rsa) 71 67 64 70, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 74 65 66 67.
274 Natham Green (Aus) 73 68 64 69, Michael Long (Nzl) 71 66 68 69, Craig Spence (Aus) 73 68 63 70, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 69 69 68 68.
275 Chris Downes (Aus) 67 73 68 67, Craig Parry (Aus) 68 69 72 66, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 69 71 66 69.
276 Paul Casey (Bri) 71 70 67 68, Paul McGinley (Ire) 67 71 68 70, David Howell (Bri) 71 69 67 69, Simon Yates (Bri) 72 68 65 71.
277 Terry Price (Aus) 66 71 69 71, Brett Rumford (Aus) 67 73 67 70, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 73 68 66 70
278 Jamie Donaldon (Bri) 68 71 69 70, David Lynn (Bri) 65 72 68 73, Charlie Wi (Kor) 72 71 66 69, Bradley Hughes (Aus) 75 67 65 71, Scott Gardiner (Aus) 74 69 65 70, Greg Owen (Bri) 69 64 74 71, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 67 75 68 68.
279 Tony Carolan (Aus) 72 70 68 69, Jarrod Moseley (Aus) 70 71 68 70, Paul
Sheehan (Aus) 68 71 69 71
