Els blossoms out of the shadow of Woods

Ernie Els admitted his decision to stop chasing Tiger Woods – two places ahead of him at No 1 in the world rankings – had played a major part in his success this year.

The Open champion swept to his third Nedbank Challenge title in four years with a course-record 63 in the final round at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa, yesterday. Colin Montgomerie finished a distant second, eight shots adrift.

"I really enjoyed the way I played this year, I had more patience this year than other years. I made peace with the fact that Tiger is out there and I don't have to chase him around anymore, I just have to play my own game," Els said. "I just played my game this year. I just stuck with my guns and didn't care too much about the other guys, not like 2001."

Els broke the course record in a flawless round of nine birdies to record his 28th consecutive sub-par round in the 11 years he has taken part in this tournament. Montgomerie shot a 67 yesterday, including a superb chip for an eagle at the 10th, but could do nothing to counter Els' amazing performance. "Ernie was unbelievable," Montgomerie said. "I can't do anything about a round like that. The holes were as big as buckets for him on the day."

Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke shot 75 to finish three under. Padraig Harrington had a nightmare 44 on the front nine to finished with a 77 for the day and one place off last.

At the Omega Hong Kong Open, Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson recorded his first victory on the European Tour as a final round of 64 gave him a two-shot win.

Six times a runner-up on the Tour, the 28-year-old secured the first prize at Fanling with a 16-under-par total of 260, two clear of his compatriot Henrik Nystrom and the Argentinian Jorge Berendt. More importantly for Jacobson, who finished 30th on last season's Volvo Order of Merit, his win ensured a playing exemption that will take him up to the end of the 2005 season.

Beginning the day a shot behind the overnight leaders, Berendt, Nystrom and Stephen Dodd, Jacobson hit four birdies in an outward 30. He dropped a shot at the 11th but bounced back with birdies at the long 12th and the 14th and parred in from there.

Wales's Dodd, who had also been chasing his maiden tour title, had been jockeying for the lead with Jacobson for much of the day but effectively saw his chance slip away with a missed 18-inch putt on the 15th. The blunder proved expensive, as he finished back in joint fourth on 13-under alongside Scotland's Gary Orr and Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen.

In Coolum, the two Australians Jarrod Moseley and Peter Lonard agreed to share the Australian PGA Championship, after fading light forced a premature end to the tournament after only one play-off hole.

The pair recorded four-round totals of 17-under-par 271 and each made par on the first play-off hole, the par-four 18th, before conferring with officials and shaking hands as joint winners. "One of us would have been shafted if we'd played another hole. You couldn't see the hole ," Moseley said. "If we'd have come back in the morning it would have been an anti-climax with nobody here." Both players said they had commitments on Monday which made it impossible to extend the tournament into a fifth day.