DATE: Monday, June 16, 1997                 TAG: 9706160180

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: OPINION 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: BETHESDA, MD.                     LENGTH:   79 lines

``FRIGHTENING CALM'' PART OF ELS' BAG OF TRICKS

A day or so into the U.S. Open, someone asked Ernie Els how it felt to be labeled the future of golf after he won the '94 Open at Oakmont only to be washed out to sea by the the tidal wave that is Tiger Woods.

``I wasn't aware anyone had ever called me the future of golf,'' Els replied, chuckling. ``Thanks for the compliment.''

Starting today, there'll be plenty more where that one came from. The muscular South African made it two Opens in four years Sunday by keeping his composure while all around him were losing theirs at beastly long Congressional.

Els won by a stroke over good friend and playing partner Colin Montgomerie, two over Tom Lehman and five over Jeff Maggert even though he, Lehman and Montgomerie were tied at 4-under with three holes to play and Maggert was but one stroke behind.

Maggert played them in 4-over-par to become an Open afterthought.

Montgomerie, a classy player who one day will make some major a great, gracious champion, became unglued on Congressional's 480-yard par-4 17th. Monty tossed his approach shot into the rough right of the green, pitched out, then two-putted for the bogey that plunged him that fatal shot behind Els.

Then there was Lehman, who is about to retire the Open trophy as Miss Congeniality. For the third year in a row, Lehman was in great position to win the Open. For the third year in a row, he found himself congratulating someone else after a 7-iron from the 17th fairway hit a greenside bank five feet lower than it should have and skipped into the greenside pond.

Meanwhile, Els cranked out par after par, the most extraordinary coming, fittingly, at the finishing hole. That was a 5-footer, about the distance from which players all over Congressional had been missing since the get-go.

``I was counting, `One. ... Two. ... Three,' '' Els said. ``Then, `Let's go.' ''

So what to make of Els now that he has become the first foreign player since Alex Smith in 1906 and 1910 to win two U.S. Opens? Say this about the 27-year-old bachelor who splits time between Fancourt, South Africa, and Orlando: He is not the future of golf.

But he could be the man who keeps the ``Future of Golf'' from riding roughshod over the game once he gains the experience/maturity/pressure-proof swing that was too rarely on display this week.

Els has everything one needs to be a constant threat in U.S. Opens. He's just 27. He is long enough. He is strong enough. He has a brilliant touch around the brillo-pad type rough that guards Open greens. He has what Montgomerie called ``frightening calm.'' If there's ever been a more complete listing of an Open's champion's resume, I've not seen it.

What he doesn't have is $70 million in endorsements and as many television commericals as there are Bonanza episodes. He's not a household name and his shyness makes it unlikely that even this second Open title will make him so.

``I have only admiration for him,'' said Montgomerie, who Els beat in a playoff at Oakmont. ``If I was ever going to lose this tournament again, I'll lose it to him.

``It's obvious you need every facet in golf terms, never mind your ability or technique, but mentally as well, to win this tougher tournament. I believe this is the toughest one of them all mentally. And he seems to have it.''

The best of Els' mental cool was on display during the helter-skelter, Alphonse and Gaston act that occurred when he and Montgomerie arrived at the 17th green at the same time contenders Jay Haas and Tommy Tolles were in full view and about to putt out on the 18th green, about a wedge away.

Montgomerie, worried about crowd noise from the 20,000 spectators crowded onto the hillside overlooking the two finishing holes, waved to Haas and Tolles to complete their work. He would wait, which meant that Els would have to wait as well.

``I don't know what Colin's strategy was there, but I was 2 1/2 feet away and he was eight,'' Els said. ``It almost got to me there, but after he missed his putt, I just went up and knocked it in. Obviously, there's 15,000 or 20,000 people sitting there and you're not going to get 20,000 people quiet when a couple of international guys are leading the U.S. Open.''

Until Montgomerie wins his first major, he can't be spoken for. But America better get used to the sight of Els' name atop the leaderboard at its national championship. Chances are, Sunday wasn't the last time they'll see it there. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ernie Els, right, celebrates his second U.S. Open championship with

his caddie, Ricci Roberts, on the 18th green Sunday.

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