Ernie Els wins British Open; Lahiri emerges as the best Asian golfer at tied 31st

South African Ernie Els won the British Open by one stroke from Adam Scott on Sunday after the Australian suffered an extraordinary late collapse on an incident-packed final day. World number 13 Scott, chasing his first major championship, started the last round with a four-shot lead and seemed to be cruising to victory as he maintained that cushion with six holes to play.

According to media reports,  a late attack of the jitters caused him to drop strokes at each of the last four holes, allowing Els to slip in through the back door and lift the Claret Jug with a two-under-par 68 and a seven-under total of 273. “It is amazing. I’m still numb. It still hasn’t sunk in yet,” Els told reporters after adding to his previous major victories in the 1994 and 1997 U.S. Opens and 2002 British Open.

According to a report in Herald Sun, Adam Scott says he cannot justify his spectacular capitulation in the final round of the British Open this morning.  The Australian led by four shots with four holes remaining, only to bogey every one of them and hand the trophy to South African Ernie Els. It was a remarkable meltdown and he was at a loss to explain it.

"It's tough. I can't justify anything that I've done out there. I didn't finish the tournament well today. I hit a poor shot on each of the last four holes. But next time, I'm sure there will be a next time, and I can do a better job of it. "It came down to not making putts the last four holes," Scott said
Meanwhile Anirban Lahiri emerged as the best Asian golfer at the 141st Open Championships despite a final round of 73, his highest of the week to finish at three-over 283 that left him in tied 31st place in the world's oldest Major. Earlier, Jeev Milkha Singh also shot a final round 73 to finish at 10-over 290 in tied 69th place, says a report in The Times Of India.

"I won't be intimidated anymore. If I can come here and hold my ground, I can hold it in any event and any field looking into the future," said Lahiri, a two-time Asian Tour winner.

"It's been a great experience and I am glad I came here in May with my coach, Vijay Divecha. It gave me a chance to look and prepare for this course. It was a smart decision instead of coming 10-12 days before the event and tire myself out," added Lahiri, who came close to the best finish by an Indian at the Open, a record held by Jyoti Randhawa at tied 27th back in 2004.