Ernie Els proved himself the king of Wentworth yet again, adding another £1million to his bank balance and taking his record number of wins in the World Match Play Championship to a magnificent seven.

Before taking a private jet to Paris in the hope of seeing South Africa set up a Rugby World Cup final against England, Els claimed his own Argentinian scalp to clinch yet another title.

Three days before his 38th birthday, the Johannesburg-born and Wentworth-based golfer was ahead throughout against Angel Cabrera and finally broke his 2007 duck with a six and four victory over the player known as ‘El Pato’ (The Duck).

“I wish I could move Wentworth around the world with me,” he said on receiving the trophy.

“It’s absolutely a dream come true. In my wildest dreams, I would not have dreamt I could win it seven times.

“A certain Mr Woods was not here this week, thank goodness, but I’ve had a great week. My putting saved me in the semi-final (against Henrik Stenson) and for some reason today it was all there.”

Els was an approximate 11 under par for the 32 holes.

The win takes him from third place on the European Order of Merit into a lead of £150,000 over Padraig Harrington.

But even though the Open champion is probably only playing the season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama between November 1-4, Els is not appearing in any of the remaining three events.

That is good news not only for Harrington, but also third-placed Justin Rose, who will hope to take over pole position at this coming week’s Portuguese Masters.

Els led by three at the halfway stage, but there was a worrying period in the morning when he had problems with his back.

“I felt it earlier on, but on the 12th and 13th it was pretty bad,” he said. “I walked it off a bit over the last few holes, but I can still feel it a bit.”

Cabrera was behind from the time he missed the green with a five-iron on the opening hole and failed to get up and down.

Els holed a 20-footer from off the green at the ninth to turn in a four-under 31 - and three clear, but on the long 12th Els went from the trees into a ditch and conceded.

A 35-footer then went in, however, on the 179-yard 14th and after the next had been shared in birdies like the fourth and 10th - Els’ 15-footer hung on the lip before dropping in - the South African’s bogey six on the 17th was followed by a winning birdie at the last thanks to a superb bunker shot watched by Prince Andrew.

“I didn’t strike my drives as well as the previous couple of days, but my putter stayed hot,” Els added.

“I knew I had to make a lot of birdies (he had eight in an approximate 66) and I am going to try to put my foot on the pedal when we tee off again - this guy is dangerous.”

To use rugby terminology, Els took the 21st ‘against the head’. He was the one in the trees and in the rough well short of the green in two, but an eight-iron and 12-foot putt saved him his par, while Cabrera failed to get up and down after pushing his approach.

The South American knew he had to step up his game - and did with four birdies in the next six holes.

The first two were still only for halves, but he won the 24th with a pitch to four feet and an even better approach to the 27th narrowed the gap to two.

That was game on, but Els promptly sank a 15-footer at the next, two-putted the 30th for a winning birdie and was almost home and dry when Cabrera bogeyed the following hole.

Els had a tough time after badly injuring his knee in a sailing accident after the 2005 Open and added: “I take my hat off to my wife. She stuck by me - it’s been difficult here and there.

“It seems like I am a patient person, but I am impatient when it comes to getting results and they have not come my way.

“That’s way this feels amazing, wonderful. This has been a very important win for myself and my career. The world number one was not here, but we had some fine players and I had to play some good golf.

“I had 20 minutes of treatment on my back during lunch and I felt a lot more loose this afternoon. I was worried, but didn’t want to show Angel that.

“Hopefully this will open up the doors and I just want to keep playing this way.”

On not playing the Volvo Masters - he has not been to it since 1998 - he stated: “I am not trying to blame anybody, but somehow the clash (with Singapore) slipped through.

“There was no clash with the Tour Championship this season, but at the end of the year you get your wheelbarrow out and you want to cash in a bit.”

Cabrera, once more using his caddie as his translator, commented: “2007 has been a great year for me. Winning the US Open has changed my life.

“I congratulate Ernie - he is a great champion - but I hope the Pumas win tonight in Paris and have better luck than I did.”

Not a rugby fan himself, Cabrera was heading in a different direction to Els.

On Tuesday and Wednesday he competes against Harrington, Masters winner Zach Johnson and Woods’ replacement Jim Furyk at the PGA Grand Slam in Bermuda.

Ernie Els’ seven World Match Play titles:

1994 - bt Seve Ballesteros 2 and 1, Jose Maria Olazabal 2 and 1, Colin Montgomerie 4 and 2. Four months after his first major win at the US Open Els is 25 under on his debut and in the final beats the man he pushed into second place at Oakmont.

1995 - bt Lee Janzen 4 and 3, Bernhard Langer 1 hole, Steve Elkington 3 and 1. Three major winners cannot stop Els retaining his title.

1996 - bt Steve Stricker 1 hole, Mark Brooks 10 and 8, Vijay Singh 3 and 2. Els becomes the first player to win the event three times in a row .

2002 - bt Colin Montgomerie 6 and 5, Vijay Singh 3 and 2, Sergio Garcia 2 and 1.

No stopping him after he starts the week with a tournament record round of 60.

2003 - bt Tim Clark 2 holes, Vijay Singh 5 and 4, Thomas Bjorn 4 and 3. Bjorn aces the 14th, but by then he is down and almost out and Els matches the five titles of Gary Player and Seve Ballesteros.

2004 - bt Scott Drummond 2 and 1, Angel Cabrera 1 hole, Padraig Harrington 5 and 4, Lee Westwood 2 and 1. Under new format he has to play four games, but is equal to the task, achieves his second hat-trick and sets a new record.

2007 - bt Colin Montgomerie 6 and 5, Andres Romero 6 and 5, Henrik Stenson 3 and 2, Angel Cabrera 6 and 4. Without a win all year he puts that right at his happiest hunting ground.