For the Record, It’s Easy for Els

KAPALUA, Hawaii —  Ernie Els got the PGA Tour off to a record-setting start Sunday, and stated his case as a legitimate challenger to Tiger Woods.

Els shattered the tour’s scoring record in relation to par, closing with a six-under 67 to finish at 31 under and win the Mercedes Championships by eight strokes.

The previous record was 28 under, set by John Huston at the 1998 Hawaiian Open and by Mark Calcavecchia two years ago in the Phoenix Open.

Els finished at 261, breaking by five shots the tournament record set four years ago by David Duval.

Woods is home in Florida recovering from knee surgery that will keep him off the tour for at least the first five weeks, but his presence might not have mattered.

Els went wire-to-wire on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, overcoming a sluggish start on the front nine and pulling away from K.J. Choi with birdies on five of his last seven holes.

It was an important start of the season for the 33-year-old South African, who lost two good chances to win at Kapalua in the previous three years.

One of them was to Woods in a sensational duel that Woods won on the second playoff hole and set the tone for his record-setting season.

Els was playing for the first time since he won the unofficial Nedbank Challenge in Sun City, South Africa, by eight strokes over Colin Montgomerie.

The runner-up was Rocco Mediate, who closed with a 73. Mediate also was the runner-up to Calcavecchia when he set the PGA Tour mark of 256 in the 2001 Phoenix Open.

Choi, who had a miserable round on the greens, had a 73 and also finished second at 23-under 269.

“I don’t see a problem with Ernie challenging Tiger for the next however many years,” Mediate said.

“I certainly think Tiger would love for that to happen. He likes to be pushed.”

Woods, who won’t return until at least the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, already has some catching up to do.

Els won $1 million for the 11th victory of his career on the PGA Tour, and sits atop the money list for the first time. He plans to play next week in the $5-million Sony Open in Honolulu.

Els has won eight times worldwide in the last 13 months, including a victory in the British Open for his third major.

The eight-stroke margin was the largest on the PGA Tour since Calcavecchia in Phoenix.

Starting the final round with a two-stroke lead over Choi, Els predicted a shootout.

Not many doubted that when typically strong winds stayed away from Kapalua for the fourth straight day, which contributed to the tournament’s record scores.

For the first time, everyone in the 36-man, winners-only field finished under par.

Choi had a chance to apply pressure to Els, but instead practically handed him the tournament with poor putting. Choi missed from six feet for birdie on No. 4, from eight feet for eagle on No. 5 and from three feet for par on the next hole.

Els tried to give it back by failing to birdie the par fives and missing the green badly to the left on No. 7 for a bogey.

Els made the turn at one under, while Choi was even par, the worst two front-nine scores on the final round.

Despite the conservative and sometimes sloppy play, Els had a three-stroke lead and remained in control.

Choi cut the lead to one shot with birdies on the 10th and 11th, the closest anyone got to Els all afternoon.

Vijay Singh closed with a 65 to finish fourth at 270, along with Retief Goosen (69).

Jim Furyk, who shared the lead with Els after the first round, had a 68 and was among those tied for sixth.