Els wins Open championship in sudden death play-off

After the driving rain and gales that decimated the field, the Open Championship was finally won in glorious sunshine last night by the laidback South African Ernie Els.

But while conditions may have been less dramatic than Saturday, when the world No 1, Tiger Woods, was made to look like a virtual beginner by the weather, the finish was not.

Having held a two-shot lead with four holes to play, Els contrived to throw it away and only got his hands on the claret jug after a four-man play-off followed by the championship's first foray into sudden death in its 131-year history.

"At times I thought I would never get my hands on this," Els said as he lifted the trophy to tumultuous applause. "It is one of the hardest tournaments I have ever had to play, but it has been the most rewarding.

"This is the greatest championship in the world and the greatest crowd in the world."

Els had begun the final day with a two-shot lead over his nearest rivals. By the time he stood on the 16th tee he needed three pars to win. But a double bogey set him back immediately and although he birdied the long 17th hole he was unable to match it on the last, finishing in a tie at six under par with the Australians Stuart Appleby and Steve Elkington and the Frenchman Thomas Levet.

The four-hole play-off eliminated the Australians, but it took a magnificent bunker shot and a nerve-wracking 4ft putt before Els was able to receive the trophy, his third major title after two US Opens.

Earlier in the day Tiger Woods shot 65 to equal the lowest round of the day. But this followed his round of 81 - the highest score of his professional career - during the worst of the weather on Saturday, which ended his hopes of winning an unprecedented grand slam of all four major titles in the same year.