DUBLIN, Ohio, 8 June 2004 — South African Ernie Els boosted his confidence ahead of the US Open in two weeks’ time by romping to a four-shot victory at the $5.25 million Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village on Sunday.

The world No. 3, ahead by two strokes after the third round, briefly lost the lead after a bogey at the fourth. But he was four-under-par over the next six holes and eventually finished with a six-under 66 for an 18-under tally of 270.

Fred Couples, the 1998 champion here, was in second place after hitting a 68 for 274. World No. 1 Tiger Woods carded his third consecutive round in the 60s, a three-under 69 giving him third place on 276.

Britain’s Justin Rose was fourth on 277, one stroke ahead of South Korean KJ Choi. Defending champion Kenny Perry and Stephen Ames of Trinidad and Tobago finished joint sixth on 279.

Tournament host Jack Nicklaus, 64, returned a closing 71 to finish in a tie for 63rd place on 295, seven over.

Els’ goal at the start of the week was to get his game in shape for the US Open at Shinnecock Hills.

Never flinching as Woods and Couples made runs at him, the “Big Easy” put together a near-flawless performance on Sunday when the course was perfect for scoring.

After Els bogeyed the fourth, Couples chipped in from 25 feet to briefly take the lead. But the South African hit back immediately with a birdie at the fifth.

Woods was 12-under through seven before parring each of the last 11 holes.

The world No. 1 drove the ball as well as he has done all year for the first 10 holes but then missed three fairways in a row in the middle of the back nine.

Webb Captures 30th LPGA Tour Victory

In Aurora, Illinois, former world No. 1 Karrie Webb won’t celebrate her 30th birthday until December, but on Sunday she was celebrating her 30th LPGA tour triumph.

Australia’s Webb shot a final round five-under-par 67 to win the 54-hole Kellogg-Keebler Classic at 16-under par 200, denying Annika Sorenstam a third straight title.

Swedish superstar Sorenstam, South Korea’s Jeong Jang and Malaysia’s Siew-Ai Lim shared a distant second on 205.

Perhaps even more gratifying than hitting the 30-win mark for Webb was earning her first title in nine months.

Webb finished the tournament with only one bogey in the last 25 holes and seems to have her game primed for next week’s LPGA Championship.

The 30th win for Webb was special too because it used to take 30 wins to get into the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Webb only missed six greens all week and every time she wasn’t making a birdie putt, she seemed to be making a long par.

The biggest save was from just over 20 feet on the 16th hole after she blasted out of a bunker from a bad lie.

With the first-place check of $180,000, Webb moves up to seventh place on the money list.

Sorenstam, the two-time defending champion, basically halted on the front nine. She came out wanting to put pressure on the leaders, but could only make par on the first nine holes.