Ernie Els Grinds Out Victory at Memorial

Monday, June 7th 2004, 5:59 am

By: News On 6

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) _ Forget about the world rankings. After fighting off Fred Couples and Tiger Woods to win the Memorial, Ernie Els doesn't need a computer to tell him where he stands.

``Right now I feel like the best player, if you beat a quality field like this,'' Els said.

The 34-year-old South African scrambled at times but was never flustered in shooting his second straight 6-under 66 for a four-stroke victory Sunday.

It was his first victory in the Jack Nicklaus-created tournament after several close calls. This one was not close.

``I lost to the best player by far,'' said Fred Couples, who finished second and was paired with Els.

Asked what he said to Els on the course, Couples cracked, ``I said a lot of things to him. I said, 'Great shot.' I got used to saying that.''

Els needed just 11 putts over the last nine holes while shooting a 4-under 32 to leave his challengers in the dust. He finished at 18-under 270, two shots off the tournament record.

More than just a $945,000 paycheck, the victory might have marked Els as the player to watch at the U.S. Open in two weeks at Shinnecock Hills. Despite winning two U.S. Opens and a British Open, most of the talk leading into the Memorial revolved around the pairing of Woods and Singh in the first two rounds.

A shot back after 36 holes, Els took the lead for good late on Saturday.

He warned observers that his two-stroke lead might not be enough of an edge against one of the top fields on tour.

``The lead doesn't mean much after the third round _ and I lost it by the fourth hole today,'' Els said.

On the par-3 fourth, Couples picked up his second birdie in a row by chipping in from the back fringe. Els had pulled his iron shot down an embankment and missed the putt after chipping back to 7 feet.

Having spotted his chasers a few holes to catch up, he pulled away.

``There was somebody who was going to come at me,'' Els said. ``Tiger made the first move and then Freddie, he just kept coming. I just tried to shake them off.''

Els picked up a shot with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 fifth and then made birdies on Nos. 7, 8 and 10.

He hit his second shot on the par-5 seventh hole into deep rough left of the hole, but lofted a pinpoint wedge to 5 1/2 feet and made the birdie putt.

``He's a big man and you don't expect him to have a great touch around the green,'' said Nicklaus, who again said he might have played his last competitive round after shooting a closing 71. ``Some of the chips he made today were just unbelievable.''

Nicknamed the Big Easy because of his fluid swing and easy-going demeanor, Els saved pars with his flawless short game at Nos. 12 and 14, made a 15-foot par putt on the 16th hole and then birdied the last two holes with iron shots inside 5 feet.

``There weren't many 66s being shot this week and he shot two on the weekend,'' said Couples, shaking his head.

Couples finished with a 68 and lost ground in the final round.

``I hung in there. I was right there the whole time, which was a great feeling for me,'' Couples said. ``I haven't really hit it like this in a long time. Just, very solid.''

Woods parred the last 12 holes while Els was posting six birdies. Even then he received the loudest roar of the day when he popped in a remarkable wedge shot for par from deep grass behind the 14th green.

``I was just trying not to hit the ball in the water,'' Woods said with a wide grin.

Els was in the 13th fairway when he heard the raucous cheer that followed and knew that someone _ most likely Woods _ had holed a shot. Els thought Woods had most likely made an eagle to climb within two shots with four holes remaining.

But Els, all but oblivious to the challengers, birdied the 13th for more breathing room.

Justin Rose of England shot a 71 and was fourth, with South Korea's K.J. Choi shooting a 72 for fifth. Defending champion Kenny Perry strung together four birdies last in his round for a 69 and tied for sixth.

British Open champion Ben Curtis, who grew up 20 minutes from Muirfield Village, shot a 72 to tie for eighth _ his first top 10 since winning at Royal St. George's last July.

The victory was Els' 10th in the last two years. Even when he hit errant shots, his putter never let him down.

Nicklaus asked him, ``What was the key putt? 12? 13? 14? 15? 16? 17?''

Els laughed. ``Yeah, exactly,'' he said.