"Els barrelled through the field like a freight train"

Oliver Brown on Ernie Els' stunning comeback both Sunday and from career struggles to win the 2012 Open Championship at Lytham and St. Annes, with a nice recap of everything Els has done to stay relevant.

Els barrelled through the field like a freight train, scattering his rivals by virtue of his brilliance under pressure and of his own superior aesthetics. Could it really have been a decade since he last hoisted the Claret Jug at Troon? It rarely seemed like it as the 42 year-old carved out a serene path to victory, exhibiting the type of sedated state associated more with the seaside donkeys that ply this section of Blackpool coast.

But no one expected this. Not even his most fervent disciples could have dared argue that he had still had it within him to win an Open from five shots back on Sunday, but perhaps they should have consulted the man himself. Els had forecast before this tournament began that “something special” could happen, and he elicited nothing more than gentle amusement among commentators.

His post round interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi: