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Your support makes all the difference.Nick Faldo came within a stroke of capturing his first title for nearly six years but was denied at the last hole by the in-form Ernie Els in the Heineken Classic here yesterday.
The world No 2 eventually won his fourth tournament in five starts by a single stroke from Faldo and Peter Lonard despite struggling with his game for the first two rounds at Royal Melbourne and reaching half-way on just two-under par, eight off the lead.
But a night out on Friday loosened the limbs and the South African found his rhythm and danced up the leaderboard to post a club-house total of 15-under par with a final round 65.
Faldo, the leader after 64 holes, needed a birdie on the last but shot through the green and had to settle for a finish of 14-under par.
Lonard, though, arrived on the final tee tied with Els on 15-under. He could have played safe, stuck with a par and forced a sudden death. But the Australian Masters champion's tee shot flew down the right, his second thudded into the bunker and in the end the putt for par slid past the hole for only his third bogey of the tournament.
Faldo took confidence from his own performance, despite coming so close. "The best bit for me is that I hung in there and stayed there for the first time in a long time," the 45-year-old said. "That's what it's all about, to compete. I sensed Ernie was the man. I hung in there and did the best I could."
Faldo said Els would be a formidable opponent this year for the world No 1 Tiger Woods, who is recovering from a knee injury. "Tiger in theory will be rusty, or limping, and Ernie is going to be hot," Faldo said.
Els said: "I played with Peter Lonard the first two days. If you asked him if he ever thought I was going to win the tournament after playing with me, I am sure he would have said: 'No way'.
"I was out of sorts and my rhythm was all over the place. It wasn't a great feeling," the Open champion added.
It was a battle from the off after Stephen Gallacher had made an early charge to join Faldo on top of the leaderboard at 11-under par. Paul Casey, the half-way leader who hit a patch of erratic form, was also in on the act and at one point all five players were tied for the lead on 12-under.
Faldo, Lonard and Els took turns in holding the outright lead before the thrilling finish on 18. Casey eventually finished tied for fourth with Gallacher, Soren Kjeldsen and English compatriots Gary Evans and David Lynn. Greg Norman finished on six under.
* Tim Herron took a four-stroke lead into the final round of the Bob Hope Classic in La Quinta, California, after shooting a seven-under-par 65 in the fourth round on Saturday. Behind him in the 90-hole pro-am tournament, which is played over four different courses in the Californian desert, were Jay Haas and the Canadian Mike Weir.
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