Els wins fourth tournament of year in a landslide

Sunday, February 16th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PERTH, Australia (AP) _ Ernie Els is off to a breathtaking start this year, even by his own demanding standards _ four titles in five tournaments, with a second-place finish in the other.

The South African's latest victory came in a landslide Sunday when he closed with a 6-under-par 66 to capture the Johnnie Walker Classic by 10 strokes, setting a PGA European Tour record by finishing 29 under par.

``The way I'm playing now is some of the best golf I've ever played,'' said Els, a two-time winner of the U.S. Open. ``The whole package is pretty good at the moment.''

His four-round total of 259 on the Lake Karrinyup course broke the tour's 72-hole record for relation to par, surpassing Jerry Anderson's 27 under in the 1984 European Masters.

Australians Stephen Leaney and Andre Stoltz matched Els' closing 66 to tie for second at 19 under.

Els has made his surging start this season while Tiger Woods was sidelined following an operation on his left knee.

``It's not me against Tiger and Tiger against me,'' Els said. ``I think it is us on a golf course and us trying to win golf tournaments. I'm just going to do what I am doing and play better golf.''