Els Avoids Injury in Snowmobile Crash

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — U.S. Open champion Ernie Els counts himself lucky to be around to contest the Andersen Consulting World Championship semifinals after a snowmobile mishap in Colorado on Wednesday.

Els walked away from a snowmobile crash in Vail after losing control of the vehicle at about 40 mph.

The South African hurtled into a pine tree, but was fortunate to hit only branches, avoiding serious injury. He suffered only lacerations on his forehead and arms.

Els was able to laugh off the incident Friday, but acknowledged it could have been very serious.

“I didn’t make one turn,” he said on the eve of his semifinal match against Colin Montgomerie. “I was giving it some gas and I was almost airborne. I missed the base of the tree, thank God.”

Asked what the result might have been had he hit the tree trunk, Els said: “I wouldn’t have been playing. Colin would have had a bye.”

Els meets Montgomerie in one 18-hole match-play semifinal, while American Davis Love III takes on Japan’s Hajime Meshiai in the other semifinal. The victors advance to Sunday’s 36-hole final, with $1 million going to the winner.

This marks the third and final year for the event in its current format. Next year it will be folded into the first event of the World Golf Championships, doubling in size to become a 64-man match-play tournament at La Costa.