Some day, at some stage, perhaps we will learn the lesson: Never, ever write off a champion.

Having been forgotten as a challenger for the sport’s biggest titles, 42-year-old Ernie Els won his second British Open on Sunday – and his fourth major in all – as he got the better of Adam Scott in a dramatic run-in at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

With Scott blowing a four-stroke lead in the closing stages, Els admitted his victory was bittersweet, particularly as the Australian is one of his best friends on tour.

But there was no disguising the joy on the face of the South African, who as recently as a year ago had been discarded as an also-ran.

Els admitted as much in his victory speech as he held the Claret Jug for the second time, after his 2002 triumph at Muirfield.

“I had a lot of support, but you guys have to ask yourselves the question, were you just being nice to me or did you really think I could win?,” Els said in a typically modest victory speech.

Long one of the most popular players on tour, Els found time to thank South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela, in the week of his 94th birthday, for all he has done for the country.

Just a year ago, Els was in the middle of a slump, his long game erratic and his brilliant short game, normally the bedrock of his performance, strangely off target.

It took a lot of work with his support team to regain belief in his game.

However, even as he missed a chance at last month’s US Open – when he bogeyed two of his last three holes – crucially, Els felt he was back.

His success at Lytham was praised by Gary Player, the greatest player in South Africa’s history and a man on whom Els had leaned in his toughest times.

“What a great day for South African golf,” Player said. “South Africa has now won more majors than any country in the world apart from US; that is remarkable.

“I was so thrilled for Ernie, he has had a rough time but here, today, he wins the most important championship in the world.”

It was a day few of the people who packed themselves into the grounds of Royal Lytham & St Annes believed they would ever see again.

When he won his first major, at the US Open in 1994, it seemed that it would be the first of many.

Now, he has won four and with his confidence restored, few would bet against him adding to his tally over the next few years.