Ernie Els struggled down the stretch but held on to win at Bay Hill by two strokes over Kevin Na and Eduardo Molinari. He shot a final round 71 to finish at 11 under par for the tournament. On Sunday, he held a five stroke lead but double bogeyed the 13th and bogeyed the 14th before play was suspended until Monday due to weather.
Els started Monday with nice pars on 15 and 16 and then got up and down for par from a buried lie on the 17th. He went on to par 18 by getting up and down out of the rough.
Na barely missed a birdie putt on the 17th and then bogeyed the 18th to take the pressure off Els, who was playing one group behind.
The win is the second straight for Els who also won at Doral just two weeks ago. He becomes the first multiple winner on Tour this year and the first player to win two tournaments in the Florida swing since Tiger Woods in 2001.
Els, a three time major champion, is the hottest player on Tour right now heading into the Masters which begins April 8th.
Els isn't the only player with a strong game right now, as Fred Couples just won his third consecutive tournament on the Champions Tour. The 1992 Masters champ will be on the radar at Augusta and will be playing a practice round with Tiger Woods the Monday of Masters week.
As for Tiger, the defending champion and six time winner at Bay hill sat out the week, stating that his game was not in good enough shape to compete. He will make his return at Augusta and look to win his 5th green jacket in his first tournament since the Australian Masters last November.
