Els Continues His Great Start

HONOLULU — In a thrilling battle that ended with an unlikely birdie, Ernie Els outlasted Aaron Baddeley in a playoff Sunday to win the Sony Open and become the first player in 14 years to win the first two PGA Tour events of the season.

But unlike last week’s victory at Kapalua, he had to work hard for this one.

He appeared to be a beaten man when he missed the green to the left on the 353-yard 10th hole, then chipped through the green, 55 feet from the hole.

Instead, Els made the putt and won on the second playoff hole when the 21-year-old Australian’s 20-foot birdie putt hung on the lip.

Els closed with a three-under-par 67, while Baddeley had a 69 as both finished at 16-under 264.

“I thought the kid was going to go away, but he kept at me,” Els said. “Unlucky for Aaron, but he’s going to win a lot of titles.”

Baddeley first rose to prominence as an 18-year-old amateur who beat Greg Norman and Colin Montgomerie in the ’99 Australian Open.

He made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff, made another birdie from six feet to continue and was in much better shape than Els on No. 10, the second playoff hole.

It was a stunning conclusion, and a great sendoff for Els, who earned $900,000, pushing him to $1.9 million on the money list.

Els might still be leading the list when he returns to the PGA Tour for the Match Play Championship at the end of February.

Steve Jones in 1989 was the last player to win the opening two events on tour.

Chris DiMarco had a 66 and finished third, while Jerry Kelly eagled the final hole for a 65 to tie for fourth with Robert Allenby (66).