Ernie Els shot a 7-under 65 yesterday to beat Trevor Immelman by three strokes at the South African Open in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Els had eight birdies and a bogey to finish the final round at 24-under 264. It was the South African's first win of 2006.

"My wife needs a lot of credit. I've been a bear with a sore head this year," Els said. "I've been working harder than ever and felt like I was going backwards. It's been a tough year for me and my family. So this win is huge for me at this stage of my career. I don't think it's really even sunk in yet."

Immelman (71) started the day with a three-stroke lead, but had bogeys on the sixth and eighth holes. The South African rebounded with three birdies on the last nine holes, but Els had five.

"My game plan was to draw level with him through nine and see what happens, but as it turned out I was two ahead through nine," Els said.

Patrik Sjoland, who led at the tournament's halfway mark, shot a 67 to finish third at 268, and Darren Fichardt (68) was fourth at 272. Retief Goosen (70) earned a share of fifth place, and Lee Westwood (70) was tied for eighth.

Els said he needed motivation to get back to his best.

"I feel I've still got a lot to offer the game and a lot of goals to achieve," Els said. "The way I played in this final round will give me a lot of confidence in the majors next year, so hopefully this is the little step I needed."

ASIA TOPS INTERNATIONAL SQUAD IN LEXUS CUP

South Korea's Seon Hwa Lee held off ADT Championship winner Julieta Granada, 2 and 1, in rainy conditions yesterday to give Asia a 12 1/2-11 1/2 victory over Annika Sorenstam's International team in the Lexus Cup in Singapore.

Ahead 7-5 after winning four of the six best-ball matches Saturday, Asia took 5 1/2 of 12 points yesterday in singles play on Tanah Merah's Garden Course. Last year, the International team won the inaugural event 16-8.

The 20-year-old Lee, the ShopRite LPGA Classic winner in June, took a 2-up lead with a birdie on 16, hitting a 90-yard shot within inches, then matched Granada's par on 17 to end the event. Granada conceded after Lee hit her 30-foot birdie putt close.

"It was a very difficult putt. There were a lot of people watching me," Lee said through a translator. "I didn't want to make a mistake."

One of nine South Korean players in Asia's lineup, Lee won all three of her matches in the LPGA Tour-sanctioned event.

"I'm so happy. Seon Hwa, what a finish!" said playing captain Grace Park, another South Korean. "I was shaking so much. I've never been so nervous."

South Korea's Young Kim, Jee Young Lee and Hee-Won Han and Japan's Sakura Yokomine also won in the closing session that was delayed twice because of lightning.