Ernie Els holes 40-foot bomb at 18 to win Champions Tour event

Ernie Els continued to prove he is still a force to be reckoned with in the game of golf by holing a 40-foot birdie bomb on the 18th hole to win the SAS Championship by one stroke over his long-time arch rival Colin Montgomerie. 

Els, who turns 51 later this week, started the final round three strokes off the pace and behind a number of fellow legends in the game, but the South African raced to the front with a best-of-the-day 6-under 66 to finish 12-under par. 

CLUTCH! @TheBig_Easy drains a 40-foot birdie to take the lead at the 18th. pic.twitter.com/GxlFsceFwF

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) October 11, 2020

The four-time major champion started slowly with a bogey at the 3rd, but then strung three consecutive birdies together from the 6th and then added birdies at 10 and 13 to draw level with Montgomerie. 

Els briefly fell one stroke behind when the Scot birdied the 14th, but he then moved in front for the first time all week following back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18, the last of which came from 40 feet.

The South African was also seen playing some incredible shots during the week, including this gem from out the trees...

We witnessed some ridiculous traj last week in golf. A thread featuring three of our favorite ball flights.



First up, this masterpiece from @TheBig_Easy.pic.twitter.com/qzIaZfn74r

— Skratch (@Skratch) October 12, 2020

"It's a crazy game," said Els, who now leads the season-long Charles Schwab Cup money list in his first-ever season on the over 50s circuit. 

"A couple of weeks ago I missed a very short putt to get in a playoff and today I made a 40-footer. Figure that one out!"

Els credits a recent putting lesson with his friend and fellow major champion Mark O'Meara.

"Just by chance I saw him on the putting green the other day and we just started chatting a little bit," said Els, who has now won twice on the Champions Tour this season. 

"He uses the same putter that I use, so we started talking a little bit and I said 'Hey, have a look here'. I didn't have a great experience at Pebble Beach obviously a couple of weeks ago. 

"He looked at me and he's a great putter, and knowing a man that long, he gave me a nice assist. He told me what he felt I should do and here I am. So I owe Mark O'Meara."