The Big Easy makes a big statement with Hawaii win

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- No need to wait for Tiger Woods' return from knee surgery to see a dominant performance on the PGA Tour.

Ernie Els showed off all his skills at the season-opening Mercedes Championships, where he shattered two scoring records, won by eight strokes and invited the kind of praise normally reserved for the world's No. 1 player.

"He's not missing a part of his game," Rocco Mediate said. "What is he bad at? Nothing. He drives it 400, chips and putts as well as anybody on the planet, good iron player. I don't see a problem with Ernie challenging Tiger for the next however many years."

First, the Big Easy will have to wait until Woods returns.

He's in no hurry.

"I didn't miss him," Els said with a laugh after closing with a 6-under 67 Sunday, giving him a four-day total of 31 under that broke the previous tour record in relation to par by three shots.

Els didn't miss a beat.

Winning the British Open at Muirfield, his third major championship, might have been a warmup. Els ended last season at the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City, South Africa, where he demolished the field by eight strokes.

With new equipment, it was the same story at the Mercedes Championships.

Els never trailed over the final 45 holes on the Plantation Course, dispatching one challenge after another. The final one came from K.J. Choi, the stocky South Korean who got within one stroke after birdies on Nos. 10 and 11.

The 33-year-old South African responded by nearly driving the green on the 373-yard 12th hole, setting up an easy birdie. .

The final numbers were staggering.

Els finished at 31-under 261, breaking the tour's 72-hole record of 28 under held by John Huston (1998 Hawaiian Open) and Mark Calcavecchia (2001 Phoenix Open).

He also broke the tournament record of 26-under 266 set by David Duval in 1999.

Duval was on his way to the top that year. He followed his nine-stroke victory at the Mercedes Championship with a final-round 59 to win the Bob Hope Classic, and a victory two months later in The Players Championship moved him up to No. 1.

Els can't duplicate that.

Woods' roost atop the world ranking is so secure that he is virtually assured of staying at No. 1 the rest of the year, and probably into the distant future.

Even so, Els -- who overtook Phil Michelson at No. 2 in the rankings Monday -- looks ready to restore his rivalry with Woods, after winning eight times worldwide in the last 13 months and starting this season in such dominant fashion.

If this was a statement, Els didn't own up to it.

"I'm not trying to send a message to anybody," he said. I'm just trying to prove to myself that I can play well."