Els gets first tour win since 2004

This time, Ernie Els could enjoy someone else’s final-round misfortune.

Ending nearly a four-year drought between PGA Tour victories, Els shot a three-under-par 67 Sunday to win the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He finished at six-under 274, one shot better than Luke Donald (71) and two ahead of Nathan Green (67).

“It’s been a long time coming,” Els said.

Els and Mark Calcavecchia were tied for the lead as the sun began to set on PGA National. Calcavecchia hit into a greenside bunker at the par-three 15th, and his shot from the sand looked fine when it hit the green.

But it never stopped rolling.

“I certainly never dreamed it would run into the water,” Calcavecchia said. “It just didn’t grab and just kept rolling and rolling and rolling. And that was it.”

The ball came to rest on a rock ledge across the green. Calcavecchia walked over, tossed the ball into the water and made a double bogey to give Els the lead. Els coolly made par on the par-five finishing hole, then waited to see if anyone would match his score.

No one did, though Donald had a chance on the last hole. His birdie chip from just off the green stopped a couple feet shy of the cup, sealing Els’ win.

“To win over here, it’s been really my goal,” Els said. “So it’s a great feeling.”

And with that, Els got the huge shot of confidence he’s sought for so long, along with his first PGA Tour win since the 2004 American Express Championship in Ireland. Plus, he’ll jump a spot to third in the world rankings, passing Steve Stricker.

“I really played pretty well today,” Els said.

Calcavecchia (73), Robert Allenby (70) and Matt Jones (73) tied for fourth, three shots back.

Brian Davis, who was at 10 under earlier in the week and led after 36 holes, shot his second straight 73 and finished in a five-way tie for seventh, four shots off the winning score.

When the final round began, 25 players were within five shots of the lead, which Donald, Jones and Calcavecchia shared after three rounds. --

Lorena Ochoa completed a runaway victory in her first tournament of the year, closing with a four-under 68 to leave Annika Sorenstam 11 strokes behind in the rain-slowed HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore.

Competing for the first time since winning the ADT Championship in November for her eighth 2007 victory, Ochoa finished at 20-under 268 on Tanah Merah’s Garden Course. The top-ranked Mexican star earned $300,000 for her 18th career LPGA Tour victory.

Sorenstam shot a 71 in rainy afternoon conditions for her third straight top-four finish.

Slowed by neck and back injuries last year, she won the season-opening SBS Open in Hawaii for her 70th LPGA Tour title and first since September 2006, then finished fourth last week in the Fields Open.

Paula Creamer, the Fields Open winner, shot a 73 to finish third at seven under.