Faldo expects but Els delivers

There was to be no fairytale ending to the week here for father-to-be Nick Faldo but the Englishman lost no admirers in finishing joint second to the in-form Ernie Els, who retained the Heineken Classic title in dramatic fashion after the Australian Peter Lonard bogeyed the final hole yesterday.

Els, the world No2, has won four of his past five tournaments, with his victories in the first two US Tour events of the new season in Hawaii followed by second place in Singapore last week.

The South African set the clubhouse target on 15 under par with a final round of 66 for a 273 total, yet Lonard, the Australian Open champion, strode on to the 18th tee level.

But he put his tee shot into the rough and bunkered his second to card only his third bogey of the tournament and with his closing 68 had to settle for a share of second place with Faldo, the overnight leader, on 14 under.

In a thrilling final day the 45-year-old Englishman - who announced last week that his third wife is expecting their first child - was also in touch heading on to the last, chasing his first title in nearly six years. But the six-time major champion failed to get the birdie he needed on the tricky 18th and closed with a three-under 69 to go with the faultless 65 he carded on Saturday.

Els's victory was secured on the back nine, where he played with a calm assurance despite the pressure to produce magnificent saves at the 16th, with a putt from the fringes, and again at the 18th.

Playing his fourth consecutive tournament, Els had complained of feeling jaded early on after reaching halfway on only two under par, eight shots off the lead. But he found his relentless rhythm over the weekend.

"I didn't think I had much chance after Thursday and Friday," he said. "But I love this course and I got my swing to gether and amazingly I came through."

Afterwards he paid a warm tribute to his friend - and once again rival - Faldo: "I have always looked up to Nick Faldo so it's nice to beat him every now and then."

Els, who has brought his family to Australia, now plans to take the week off before returning to action at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth.

Earlier in the day, Scotland's Stephen Gallacher - nephew of the former Ryder Cup captain Bernard - saw his name briefly atop the leaderboard when he stormed through the pack to pick up seven shots for a final round of 65 matched only by Els and Jarrod Moseley.

The halfway leader Paul Casey, who ruined his chances with a 74 on Saturday, endured another erratic round for a closing 70 that left him tied for fourth with a 276 total, two shots back from Faldo and Lonard. Casey shared that mark with his fellow Englishmen Gary Evans, who shot 66 yesterday, and David Lynn plus Gallacher and the Dane Soren Kjeldsen.

Nicolas Fasth endured the worst round of the day with a seven-over 79. The Dane had teed off with Casey on 10 under and ended tied for 46th place on 285, three under, while Greg Norman ended on six under.