After Playoff, U.S. Open Has Els to Pay : Golf: South African beats Roberts on second sudden-death hole, is first foreign-born winner since 1981.

How do you win the U.S. Open? Simple, really.

On the second hole of a sudden-death playoff, the 20th playoff hole, the 92nd hole on the fifth day of play, you shoot par.

That’s what Ernie Els did Monday in scoring an improbable victory in the 94th U.S. Open’s oppressive heat and suffocating pressure at Oakmont Country Club, where par for the course would have been an extremely good score.

Els, a 24-year-old big hitter with finesse from Johannesburg, South Africa, parred the second playoff hole to beat Loren Roberts and win his first major title.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” said the 6-foot-3 Els, whose victory marked a historic day in golf--the first time foreign-born players had won the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same year. Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain won the Masters.

Els, the first foreign-born U.S. Open winner since David Graham in 1981 and only the fourth since 1927, began the day’s playoff round, an 18-hole epic of bogey golf with Roberts and Scotsman Colin Montgomerie, in about the worst shape he could have imagined.

He started with a bogey, then took a triple bogey, soaring four over par after the first two holes.

“Horrific,” Els called his start.

“I thought after two holes ‘Man, what are you doing out here?’ ”

Then Els birdied No. 3, Roberts double-bogeyed No. 5 and the race was on. Els caught Roberts with a birdie on No. 7 and stayed within a shot the rest of the way.

After 18 holes, Els and Roberts were still tied at 74 and went on to sudden death, minus Montgomerie, who exited with a 78.

It was only the second sudden-death playoff in U.S. Open history. The other was in 1990 at Medinah near Chicago, when Hale Irwin defeated Mike Donald on the first sudden-death hole.

Els and Roberts matched par on No. 10, the first sudden-death hole, but Roberts quickly found himself in deep trouble on the par-four, 378-yard 11th.

His drive landed deep in the right rough, 142 yards from the green, and his second shot, a nine-iron, landed in a green-guarding bunker.

“I really didn’t have any chance to get it on the green,” Roberts said.

Unfortunately for him, the ball was embedded in the lip of the bunker, so he could get only to within 30 feet of the hole with his third shot.

Els was on the green in two after his booming two-iron drive landed in the middle of the fairway, a rarity for all players most of the day.

As Els watched, Roberts’ putt for par hit the back of the hole and spun out.

Roberts closed his eyes and groaned, draping his putter back over his shoulder.

“I’m certainly not going to hang my head about the way I played,” said Roberts, 38, who won his first PGA Tour event this year and is not widely known. ABC-TV’s Brent Musburger called him Lorne Greene on Sunday’s telecast.

Now it was Els’ turn. All he needed to do was two-putt from 18 feet. He slid the first putt about 3 feet past the hole, but rolled the second straight into the cup.

Els won despite hitting only six of 20 fairways and 11 of 20 greens.

And the U.S. Open is supposed to be won by the steady grinder?

“You saying I’m not hitting it straight?” Els asked, jokingly.

Well, consider the evidence, and there was plenty of it. Els, Roberts and Montgomerie played the second hole in a collective six-over par--triple bogey, double bogey, bogey. It was almost a shame they didn’t have a fourth in the group so they could have attempted to bogey for the cycle.

Until the third hole, Els had hit more bushes than fairways, one. He had scored a triple-bogey seven on No. 2 after his second shot landed beneath a bush behind the green and he had to take a stroke penalty for an unplayable lie.

It took 1 1/2 hours to play the first five holes, after which Roberts, Els and Montgomerie were a combined 10 over.

Montgomerie had taken himself out of the running by the 11th hole, by which time he had three double bogeys and two bogeys after having made the turn with a hefty 42.

His chances seemed to sour at No. 6, the first of the four par-three holes, after he had taken double bogeys on Nos. 2 and No. 3.

He missed a five-foot putt for a birdie and the ball slid eight feet past the hole. Then he missed that one too.

“Obviously, I am very disappointed,” Montgomerie said.

Until it was too late, nearly all Montgomerie’s shots deserted him. He played as if a chip was something salted that came in a bag.

The 13th and 14th holes were remarkable in that they were the first two in order that the trio played without at least one bogey.

“I turned to Colin a couple of times and said, ‘We’re not playing very well,’ ” Els said. “I guess it was just good enough.”

Els walked into the clubhouse carrying the U.S. Open trophy and walked out carrying big expectations, including a special anointing by Jack Nicklaus.

“I’ve said for a long time, some guy is going to come along big and strong and have a touch, and we may have him,” Nicklaus said of Els. “He’s already a very good player, but so darned young. He has a great opportunity. He is probably your golfer of the future.”

Els said it’s probably too soon to put a label on him, mainly because winning the U.S. Open is still sinking in.

“I’ve always wanted to win a major championship (and) it’s coming pretty early for me,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll be ready for it. If people want to label me the next great whatever, fine. I’ll do it my own way.”

Monday at Oakmont, his own way was fine.