Sky Sports.com

Els: a victim of his own brilliance

Bickerton will have been the most surprised person on the planet to be receiving a trophy and a winner's cheque on Sunday night.

Mark Roe
Quotes of the week

European Tour Golf
Live on Sky Sports
South African Airways Open
Click here for details

Dear John, Merry Christmas, Best Wishes, Ernie Els.

We've had our fair share of dramatic finishes on the European Tour in recent months and certainly you can describe the climax of the Alfred Dunhill at Leopard Creek last week as 'dramatic'.

Poor old Ernie! For John Bickerton it really was an early Christmas present because when Els stands on the last tee, two shots ahead, you don't expect him to collapse and certainly not in the way he did. Bickerton will have been the most surprised person on the planet to be receiving a trophy and a winner's cheque on Sunday night.

As daft as it sounds, I think Ernie was a victim of his own brilliance. He had smashed it so far down the 18th fairway that he only had a couple of 100 yards to go to reach the par five green in two. Had he found the rough, he would have laid up with a wedge and probably won it, but he didn't, classy player that he is, he smacked it right down the middle of the road.

From where he was, Ernie faced a dilemma. Lay up with a wedge or go for the green with a shot that is fraught with danger? You can't miss long or short left if you go for it on Leopard Creek's 18th hole and, given the situation, the sensible shot is to lay-up.

But he wouldn't want to win with a lay-up and wedging it on to the green, but that is what he could have done. I am not saying he should have done that but with hindsight he might be wishing he had.

It is a very difficult situation because you want to finish in style. Lay up, make the green in three and two putt for a win by three strokes. And it is not as if we haven't seen it before.

Remember Jean van der Velde at the Open.back in 1999 at Carnoustie? When the four iron came out of the bag, everyone was thinking, if not screaming at their TVs, "put it back, get the wedge out, and win with a six". We know how that ended.

In Els' mind on Sunday evening he must have felt that from that distance, he had to play for the green. It is a shot he can make 99 times out of 100 but he pushed it in the water and then we saw him over-hit his fourth shot into the water behind the flag. All of a sudden it is all unravelling and at this stage I don't think there is anyone in the world of golf, bar Tiger Woods, who keeps his calm.

Only 15 minutes before he is in dreamland, contemplating winning the event for the fourth time and all of sudden, you have a putt to tie. We know how this one ends too.

It is turning into a horrible end to a year for Ernie that - apart from World Matchplay victory - has been disappointing. Another year has gone without another major win and he received a lot of bad media attention over his decision not to attend the Volvo Masters tournament that would decide the Order of Merit.

Now he will want to put all of that and Leopard Creek behind him and look forward to new calendar year, if not the new season. He can do that knowing his game is in good shape. Clearly for 71 holes at Leopard Creek he was the best player out there. He just needs to take the positives from a bad situation if he can. A world class player and multi-major champion, he knows how to move on with the positives.

Every now and then you have a hiccup, but that was a large one in front of his fans, on a course he adores and a tournament he loves playing. It was a body blow on a par with a Muhammad Ali kidney punch and might take a little getting over.

Of course he reacted with the grace we have come to expected from him. Ernie is classy individual and I have long admired how he hasn't changed with success. He is still the friendly, 'drink a beer and chat about golf with anyone' guy. He is a genuinely nice human being. I wouldn't wish his demise on Sunday on anyone, but certainly not him.

He has an immediate chance to make amends as he and the Tour head down to George for the South African Airways Open. Let's hope he puts the demons behind him and goes on and wins his national Open. It is hugely important to the South African players to perform well in their championship.

Before finishing off this week I must extend congratulations to Bickerton on his third victory. It will probably be remember for the manner it was given to him but that's not entirely fair on him. You have to play 72 holes and finish the job to win a tournament. He put himself in the position to win if Ernie made a mistake. When that happened, he won, and he deserved it.