Wentworth Details: Ernie Els, always brutally honest, has a succinct way of putting things. Yesterday in the second round of the World Matchplay championship here he beat Tim Clark, but only after seeing a five-up-with-six-to-play lead dwindle to one up with one to play.
Asked how he had felt on the 18th tee, Els confessed: "I was crapping myself."
But the South African has not won this event four times without learning how to survive pressure situations, nor is he the world number two without good reason. He knew a birdie would be required to close out Clark, and there was never a moment when it looked as if he would not get it. He hit a huge drive of 335 yards and then, difficult though it is to believe, a seven-iron 196 yards to some 20 feet past the pin.
Clark now knew that in all likelihood he needed to hole a long chip from the back of the green and, in his eagerness, ran it 15 feet past the pin. When he missed the one back it was all over.
The narrow escape meant that Els' 34th birthday celebrations were not marred and, asked how he intended to spend the evening, he joked: "I've made it to 34. I'm going to get absolutely pissed."
He really was smiling when he said it. Els enjoys a drink now and then, but he always knows when.
Clark, another South African, made birdies at the 14th, 16th and 17th to get sufficiently close to Els to remind him that nothing in matchplay is a given.
"Maybe I needed that going into the weekend," Els said. "You know, that adrenalin rush that I had in the last hour or so. Under the gun I had to hit shots all of a sudden and I felt that I responded in a positive way."
Els now plays Vijay Singh, who scraped past Shaun Micheel, the US PGA champion, at the 38th. It was a bad day for Micheel, starting as it did in the early hours with a two-hour wait for the police to turn up to investigate a burglary at the house where he is staying. The robbery took place while Micheel and his manager were in the building.
"We were just in another part of it," said the American, who lost some $2,000, and did not get to bed until 3.30 a.m.
Micheel actually managed a lunchtime lead of two-up but, as Singh said at the time, "I just haven't functioned yet." He did in the afternoon, getting around in 64 before winning at the second extra hole - the short second - where the American bunkered his tee-shot and failed to get down in two more. Nevertheless, he banked €130,000 for his trouble.
Before yesterday's match Thomas Bjorn had shown an honest admiration for Mike Weir, saying: "I'm playing one of the finest players in the world. I know what I'm up against and I know I can beat Mike, but I also know that at this point in time he's going to beat me more times than I beat him."
The Dane's reasoning was based on the world rankings in which he is 21st, the Canadian eighth. "There's a reason I am where I am in the world rankings and he is where he is," Bjorn said.
Yesterday Bjorn took charge right from the start, turning a two-up-after-four lead into a 5 and 4 victory. Weir was one under par for the 32 holes played, which is rarely good enough in this event.
Now Bjorn plays Ben Curtis and the last time he saw the American it was when the latter was holding the Claret Jug at Royal St George's having won a British Open championship that was there for the Dane's taking, only for him to need three shots to get out of a bunker at the 16th and throw away a two-shot lead. Asked he if had any unfinished business with Curtis, Bjorn replied: "No I don't. I lost the Open and whoever I lost it to wouldn't have made any difference."
QUARTER-FINALS: (1) E Els (Rsa) bt (9) T Clark (Rsa) 2 holes; (4) S Micheel (US) lost to (5) V Singh (Fij) at 38th; (3) B Curtis (US) bt (6) C Campbell (US) 5 and 3; (2) M Weir (Can) lost to (10) T Bjorn (Den) 5 and 4.
TODAY'S SEMI-FINALS: 9.15 and 1.45: Els v Singh; 9.30 and 2.0: Curtis v Bjorn.
