Ernie Els secured his second Open Championship after beating Adam Scott by one stroke at Royal Lytham.
Ernie Els: Surprise winner
Ten years after winning his last major - also The Open - Els stood firm while others faltered on Sunday, and as such was the beneficiary of a late stumble from Adam Scott.
For much of the day the claret jug seemed destined for Scott's hands, with the Australian standing steady -until the final four holes that is.
Four shots clear when he stood on the 15th tee, the Australian bogeyed all four of the final holes to fall one short of his good friend Els.
The South African meanwhile birdied the 18th to make seven-under the score to beat. While the 42-year-old may have felt he was in with a chance of forcing a play-off, even he would have doubted that it would be enough to win.
Needing a birdie at the last for an outright win and a par to take the competition to a play-off, Scott found the fairway bunker. Up against the lip, he was forced to play out sideways. With a superb third shot required, Scott produced just that getting to eight feet from the hole. However, he was unable to complete the recovery, missing his putt to the left.
While Scott's capitulation was certainly the most noteworthy, he was not the only player who didn't to produce the goods, with many of the big names who were expected to challenge for the title failing to do so.
A triple bogey at the par-four sixth put Tiger Woods on a slide that was confirmed by three straight bogeys from the 13th, leaving the American four shots adrift of Els.
Second round leader Brandt Snedeker carded back to back double bogeys on the 7th and 8th and his luck didn't change as he ended with a 74 for a total of two-under.
Playing in the final group, Graeme McDowell was a mix of birdies and bogeys as he failed to launch himself into contention, finishing five behind Els and tie with world number one Luke Donald.
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