Clutch putts deliver Els PGA victory at Bay Hill

Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla.

Ernie Els made two clutch par putts, escaped trouble from a buried lie in the bunker and wound up wearing a blue blazer Monday for winning the rain-delayed Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Suddenly, it’s easy to picture him in a different color jacket two weeks from now.

Els overcame a few nervous moments with four solid pars to wrap up a 1-under 71 and win by two shots at Bay Hill, giving him back-to-back victories for the first time in seven years and setting himself up as a favorite at Augusta National.

“I’d like to put this jacket in some dye,” Els said at the trophy presentation. “Some green dye.”

Coming off a four-shot victory in the World Golf Championship at Doral two weeks ago, Els had to work harder than he should have for his 18th career victory on the PGA Tour.

He had a five-shot lead Sunday afternoon with six holes remaining until hitting into the water on No. 13 for a double bogey and hitting into the sand on the next hole for a bogey. Then came the thunderstorms, halting the final round until it resumed at noon Monday.