By Rob Hodgetts and Alistair Watkins
BBC Sport at Wentworth |
The defending champion led by three at the 18-hole halfway stage and maintained his superiority in cold, blustery conditions to close out the match despite a hole-in-one from his close friend Bjorn at the 14th on the West Course.
South Africa's Els, who won three times in a row from 1994-1996, joins countryman Gary Player and Spain's Seve Ballesteros as the only five-time World Match Play champions.
The 34-year-old, who recorded the biggest winning margin since Nick Faldo's 8&7 win over American Jeff Sluman in 1992, won a first prize of �1m.
"It's great to join such illustrious winners as Seve and Gary," said Els.
"There's so much history in this tournament and so many great champions - the who's who of golf.
"I felt I played really well from tee to green this afternoon and though Thomas was not quite at his best, it's matchplay and he made it interesting.
Bjorn wins car
"But it was tough playing him. He's such a close friend. It's difficult to get in that certain mood when you're playing a good friend."
Bjorn received �400,000 plus a car worth about �37,000 after his hole-in-one on the short 14th.
"I was up against it and if you don't hole the putts you're not going to win," said Bjorn.
"It's been a great week but I'd like to have gone one better. I didn't play my best today and you need to play your best against someone like Ernie.
"It's been a season of near misses and I need to improve in situations like this and be a bigger threat.
"But it's no shsme to lose to this guy." World number two Els maintained his momentum after lunch and edged further ahead with a par three to Bjorn's bogey on the fifth, his 23rd.
Bjorn hung on to his Wentworth neighbour's coat tails for four holes but his will appeared to crumble as the holes began to run out.
He scrambled for halves at the seventh and eighth but drove deep into the left rough on nine which forced him to concede the hole.
Another encounter with trees lost Bjorn the 10th but he fended off the prospect of seven-down with seven to play on the 11th and rammed home a 25-foot putt on the long 12th for eagle to get back to five-down.
But the revival gathered steam when Bjorn fired an ace at the next hole to get back to four-down.
At the 15th, though, Els slotted in a 20-foot putt for par and a halve to win the match.
 |  I'm ready to take my game to a new level |
In the morning round, Els raced to four-up at the ninth after reaching the turn in 32 shots to Bjorn's 36.
But 10th seed Bjorn refused to wilt under the Els onslaught and began to mount a comeback with a birdie on the 12th.
He also won the 14th after Els' tee shot missed the green left before he slid a six-footer agonisingly past.
Els wobbled with a wayward drive on the 15th prompted him to concede the hole after he found the green in four to Bjorn's two.
But the 32-year-old European Ryder Cup star was unable to sustain his charge and found sand on 16 en route to a bogey.
Els also won 17 with a birdie before they halved 18 in fours as the top seed went round in 70 to his opponent's 72.
MMIX
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