Sports News | Ernie Els Wins Season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship for 7th PGA Tour Title
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Ernie Els won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship on Saturday for his seventh PGA Tour Champions victory, closing with a 6-under 66 to beat Bernard Langer, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Alex Cejka by two strokes.
Hawaii, Jan 19 (AP) Ernie Els won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship on Saturday for his seventh PGA Tour Champions victory, closing with a 6-under 66 to beat Bernard Langer, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Alex Cejka by two strokes.
The 67-year-old Langer missed a chance to win for the 19th straight season on the 50-and-over tour. The German star won the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship last year for his record-extending 47th senior title.
Els finished at 18-under 198 at Hualalai Golf Course. Playing alongside Els and Cejka in the final group, Langer parred the final four holes in a 66. Jimenez closed with a 64, and Cejka shot 68. Langer and Jimenez have each won the event three times.
Els and Langer broke out of a six-way tie for the lead with matching birdies on the par-5 14th, and Els moved ahead of Langer with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th.
Els saved par on par-4 16th with a 10-footer, then left a 25-foot birdie try an inch short on the par-3 17th. On the par-4 18th, after Langer's long birdie try slid past, Els holed a 10-footer for the two-shot margin.
Els won three times last season. The 55-year-old South African is a four-time major champion, winning the US Open and British Open twice each.
Defending champion Steven Alker and Jerry Kelly each shot 65 to tie for fifth at 15 under.
Steve Stricker tied for 19th at 10 under after a 69 in his first official PGA Tour Champions event since September. AP
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)