ELS ROLLS, HOLDS ON; HE SURVIVES LATE BOGEY, BEATS WOODS, TRYBA IN WINDY FINISH.

Byline: Dave Shelburne Daily News Staff Writer

Were it anybody else but No. 1-in-the-world Tiger Woods or course record-holder Ted Tryba out there fingering their wedges, Nissan Open champion Ernie Els might have been wading through well-wishers a bit earlier Sunday.

Instead, the big South African with the silky smooth swing was trying hard not to think of the PGA Championship of 1995, where his tournament lead disappeared in a final-nine collapse on this same Riviera Country Club course.

Never mind that just to tie Els on the last hole Sunday would require either a downhill birdie chip out of club-grabbing kukuya grass by Tryba or a less-likely birdie pitch into the cup by Woods from somewhere below the beer tent.

The Big Easy fretted anxiously just the same - then wound up winning by a comfortable two-stroke margin as first Tryba, then Woods bogeyed.

``This is really sweet for me,'' said Els, who earned a tournament-record $504,000 with his 14-under-par total of 270. ``But I finished almost the way I did in the PGA - not good.''

But not bad, either. Els' closing round of 3-under-par 68 was not only the third-best score of the day but also accomplished in the face of gusting winds that made everyone's homestretch a tribulation.

``The wind was a big factor out there,'' said Tryba, whose closing 72 left him tied for second with Woods (70) and Davis Love III (70), all at 272. ``It made any shot on the last four holes - even putting - difficult.''

Despite that, Els managed to shoot in the 60s, something only 12 players accomplished Sunday after 31 had done so Saturday.

Even Els' final-hole bogey, which gave Woods and Tryba a chance to tie, was hardly a collapse.

The uphill, into-the-wind, 451-yard 18th hole produced 24 bogeys Sunday, including eight by the final nine golfers of the day.

The lone late exception was Love, whose par on No. 18 earned him a share of second-place money. It was one of the few things that went right for the 1997 PGA champion, who missed many opportunities to close while third-round leader Tryba and Woods were jockeying early before Els made his move with three consecutive back-nine birdies.

Tryba, who shot a course-record 61 in the third round, was caught by Woods on the seventh hole Sunday. Then both were passed by Els before Tryba regained a share of the lead with a birdie on No. 10 and stayed tied with his fourth and final birdie of the round on No. 11.

The 11th was also the start of the three-birdie stretch by Els, bringing him to 5 under par for the day, 16 under for the tournament, and giving him an undisputed lead he would not lose.

``I guess No. 11 really gave it back to me today,'' said Els, whose double bogey on the 11th hole Saturday launched a slump that had him dropping four strokes to par in three holes while on pace to match Tryba's record.

The reversal of fortune on Sunday overcame a slow start that dropped Els four strokes off Tryba's lead after a fourth-hole bogey.

``Then, I kind of got on a roll,'' said Els, whose three-hole surge kept the pressure on Woods and Tryba, playing one group back. They continued to push Els but couldn't push past him.

Woods dropped four strokes off the pace with a bogey on No. 12 but got back within two shots soon after when he birdied No. 15 while Els was taking bogey on No. 16.

Then, when Els bogeyed No. 18, Woods and Tryba were within final-hole birdies of a playoff.

The wind blew away most of Woods' opportunity, gusting his 179-yard, 5-iron approach into the gallery right of the 18th green, then on a bounce into the beer tent. Tryba's approach, from 224 yards, landed in the rough on the hill left of the green.

``I left my blade open, and it caught the wind,'' said Woods, who felt he missed earlier opportunities. ``I had my chances for birdies and wasn't able to convert. You have to be able to make those in order to win.''

Tryba, who lost, then regained the lead Sunday before fading in the face of Els' three-birdie run, said he was happy about his tournament for more than the record.

``I showed myself that when I'm playing well, I can play with the best players in the world,'' he said.

Many of those players were on hand at Riviera, where the list of also-rans resembled a Who's Who of professional golf.

Three-time major winner Nick Price (69 Sunday) and David Duval (also 69), ranked No. 2 in the world, shared fifth at 273, a stroke ahead of Scott Hoch (66) and midway Nissan leader Bob Estes (69). Mark Brooks, the 1996 PGA champion, also closed with a 66 to join a four-way tie at 275.

The final Nissan top-10 included five of the players ranked in the current world top-10, including No. 3-ranked Love. Els was so satisfied to outlast that kind of competition he wished he would have brought a camera.

``The way the leaderboard looked today, I should have taken a picture of that,'' he said.

``When you have players of that caliber in the field and all of those guys competing for the championship and you're in the middle of it, coming out on top must be very satisfying, to say the least. You don't beat guys like that very often.''

To say nothing of Els' satisfaction in beating away Riviera ghosts that have haunted him since his final-round 72 in the '95 PGA championship.

``Those first three rounds in the PGA were probably the best I've ever played (a 54-hole tournament record of 13-under-par 197 before losing a three-stroke lead and the tournament on the back nine),'' he said. ``But I finished the job this time.''

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4 Photos

PHOTO (1--Cover--Color) SOMETHING ELS

South African Survives Bogey Finish to Win Nissan Open.

(2) Ernie Els, whose 14-under-par total of 270 earned him the Nissan Open crown, reacts to his putt Sunday on Riviera's 10th hole.

(3) Tiger Woods, contemplating the 17th hole, came up short on the 18th to finished tied for second.

(4) Ernie Els waves to the gallery aftTer his final putt. His bogey on the 18th added some drama.

John Lazar/Daily News