/ 18 June 2000

ELS SECOND TO CHAMPION TIGER

TIGER Woods turned in a command performance to win the US Open. Woods was at 8-under 205 and 10 strokes clear of two-time US Open champion Ernie Els, whose 3-under 68 was the only round under par all day. Els’ brilliant effort moved him from a tie for 30th to second place. That put him in the final pairing Sunday with Woods, but hardly a showdown. Woods’ 54-hole lead shattered the mark set in 1921 by James Barnes, who led by seven strokes and went on to win by nine. Less than 12 hours earlier, Woods’ six-stroke lead after 36 holes broke the record of five set by Willie Anderson in the 1903 US Open.