Omega Ambassador Ernie Els

Ernie Els, the No.2 player in the world, today was celebrating his latest victory: winning the Sony Open in Hawaii against 21-year-old Aaron Baddeley. OMEGA, the Official Timekeeper of the US PGA tour, congratulates Els as he celebrates becoming the first player in 14 years to capture the first two PGA events of the season.

One week after his outstanding victory at the Mercedes Championships, Els had to struggle to win the Sony Open: his opponent, a young Australian with a game of someone far more experienced, applied relentless pressure throughout the match. Indeed, Els appeared to be on the verge of defeat when he pulled his drive left of the 353-yard 10th green, leaving him only about 12 feet of putting surface and no shot. He pitched it through the green, and Baddeley had 20 feet for birdie. “When it was 6 feet away, I was hoping I hit it hard enough,” Els said. “You can almost not believe it. That was quite something.”

Els closed with a 3-under 67, his eighth straight round in the 60s. Baddeley had a 69, as both finished at 16-under 164, 2 strokes ahead of Chris Dimarco. The world No.2 player acknowledged the talent of the 21-year-old Australian, saying, “I thought the kid was going to go away, but he kept at me. Unlucky for Aaron, but he's going to win a lot of titles”.

Els' own achievement is remarkable: he has become the first player since Steve Jones in 1989 to win the first two PGA events. OMEGA, the Official Timekeeper of the US PGA Tour, looks forward to celebrating many further successes with this star ambassador in the future.

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Source: Omega media release
January 2003