Els and Westner crush their Worlf Cup rivals

SOMERSET WEST, South Africa (Reuter): South Africans Ernie Els and Wayne Westner romped to a record 18-shot World Cup victory Sunday.

They smashed the previous best winning margin of 14 strokes, set by Ben Hogan and Sam Snead in 1956, and equaled by Fred Couples and Davis Love III in 1994 and 1995.

World matchplay champion Els did not ease up, even though the pair carried a 13-stroke advantage into the final round.

He closed with a 67 to finish 16-under and also carried off the International Trophy as leading individual. Westner finished three back in second place after a 70.

It was only the fifth occasion in the tournament's 42-year history that the winning team have staged a one-two in the individual rankings.

South Africa also became only the seventh team to lead the event throughout.

Low round of the tournament and final day was claimed by Ireland's Darren Clarke who shot a 64, despite a double bogey six at the 10th hole.

The South African duo shared the US$400,000 first prize, with Els collecting an additional $100,000 for his individual success.

"It's been an unbelievable week for me," Els said. "I have won one major, but this comes very close to it. The feeling walking up the 18th was incredible -- to win a tournament like this playing in front of your home crowd in the way we did is really satisfying."

Scotland was unable to hold off the challenge of the United States, finishing third on 10-under as Tom Lehman and Steve Jones improved by five shots on the final day to finish on 11-under.

LPGA

In Las Vegas, Nevada, sensational Australian Karrie Webb capped her first season on the LPGA Tour by becoming the first woman golfer to earn more than $1 million in a year Sunday when she won the $700,000 LPGA Tour Championship.

Webb's fourth victory of the year was worth $150,000, boosting her 1996 earnings to a record $1,004,000. She topped Britain's Laura Davies by more than $75,000 to become the first rookie to win the LPGA money title since Nancy Lopez in 1978.

The 21-year-old fired a seven-under-par 65 for a four-round total of 16-under 272 at the Desert Inn Golf Course and a four- shot victory over three golfers.

No rookie had won the money crown since Nancy Lopez in 1978. But Webb won four titles this year and was among the top 10 in nearly every statistical category for tour players.

"At the start of the week, winning $1 million was the farthest (thought) from my mind," Webb said. "My goal at the start was to win. No rookie on the men's tour has ever earned $1 million in a season."

Selected scores

World Cup: 547 - South Africa (Ernie Els 68 72 65 67, Wayne Westner 68 72 65 70) 565 - United States (Tom Lehman 73 70 70 70, Steve Jones 73 70 70 69) 566 - Scotland (Andrew Coltart 70 72 72 71, Paul Lawrie 69 70 70 72) 571 - Germany (Bernhard Langer 71 68 72 69, Alexander Cejka 74 76 68 73) 572 - France (Jean van de Velde 73 68 70 75, Marc-Antonie Farry 71 73 74 68) 579 - Argentina (Ricardo Gonzalez 71 73 68 72, Jorge Alberto Berendt 71 74 72 78), Denmark (Thomas Bjorn 67 74 76 68, Rene Budde 71 73 76 74) 580 - Namibia (Trevor Dodds 70 70 74 72, Schalk van der Merwe 76 76 69 73), Italy (Manuel Zerman 72 78 75 72, Costantino Rocca 71 71 72 69), Wales (Ian Woosnam 70 73 67 71, Mark Mouland 73 76 76 74),

Top 10 individual results: 272 - Ernie Els (Rsa) 68 72 65 67 275 - Wayne Westner (Rsa) 68 72 65 70 211 - Bernhard Langer (Ger) 71 68 72 69 281 - Paul Lawrie (Sco) 69 70 70 72, Ian Woosnam (Wal) 70 73 67 71 282 - Steve Jones (U.S.) 73 70 70 69 283 - Costantino Rocca (Ita) 71 71 72 69, Tom Lehman (U.S.) 73 70 70 70 284 - Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 71 73 68 72 285 - Stuart Appleby (Australia) 74 71 70 70, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 67 74 76 68, Andrew Coltart (Scotland) 70 72 72 71

LPGA (U.S. golfers, unless stated): 272 - Karrie Webb (Aus) 69 70 68 65 276 - Kelly Robbins 70 70 71 65, Nancy Lopez 73 68 69 66, Emilee Klein 69 68 70 69 277 - Brandie Burton 72 69 69 67, Laura Davies (Bri) 69 70 71 67, Juli Inkster 68 70 72 67 279 - Michelle McGann 281 Annika Sorenstam (Swe) 73 68 73 67, Penny Hammel 68 71 74 68 282 - Caroline Pierce (Britain) 71 72 70 69