MONDAY, 1.30PM:
SOUTH AFRICA’S Ernie Els tried unsuccesfully to retain the Toyota Matchplay title at Wentworth on Sunday. Els, who won the tounament on his debut in 1994, lost to Vijay Singh by two shots in the 36-hole final of the tournament.
After the match, Els admitted that he was not at his best for the tounament. “I didn’t play well all day. I wasn’t that comfortable with my swing, although I tried my hardest out there.”
He was three down at lunch and although he squared the match on the back nine in the afternoon, he made a bogey at the par-four 15th to fall one behind. He would have needed an eagle to take the match into extra holes as Singh made birdies, but Els only managed a par.
Singh was very excited at winning the tournament and beating a player of Els’s calibre. “When I was a kid I dreamed that one day I’d be good enough to play in the Piccadilly World Matchplay, as it was known then. Now I’ve won the tournament and it feels very sweet — especially beating a great player like Ernie Els in the final,” he said.