Theodore Ernest Els, born on October 17, 1969, is a South African professional golfer celebrated worldwide. A former World No. 1, he is affectionately nicknamed "The Big Easy" because of his imposing physical stature combined with his fluid and seemingly effortless golf swing.
Ernie Els at the 2013 Masters Tournament.
Els is known for his calm demeanor both on and off the course, making his effortless shots a hallmark of his game. Standing tall at 6 feet 3 inches, he has become one of the most successful golfers globally. With over 70 career tournaments won, including four major events, Els has left an indelible mark on the sport.
Beyond his achievements on the PGA Tour and European Tour, Ernie Els now primarily competes on the PGA Tour Champions. Off the greens, he channels his energy into designing golf courses, expanding his business ventures, and engaging in charitable work to promote golf among underprivileged youth in South Africa.
Early Life and Amateur Career
Growing up in Lambton, Germiston, South Africa, Els engaged in various sports, including rugby, cricket, and tennis, before focusing on golf at age 8. He was a skilled junior tennis player, even winning the Eastern Transvaal Junior Championships at age 13.
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Els first learned the game of golf from his father Neels, a trucking executive, at the Germiston Golf course. He was soon playing better than his father (and his older brother, Dirk), and by the age of 14 he was a scratch handicap. It was around this time that he decided to focus exclusively on golf.
Els first achieved prominence in 1984, when he won the Junior World Golf Championship in the Boys 13-14 category. Phil Mickelson was second to Els that year. Els won the South African Amateur a few months after his 17th birthday, becoming the youngest-ever winner of that event, breaking the record which had been held since 1935 by Bobby Locke.
Professional Career Highlights
In 1989, Els turned professional. In 1991, he began playing on the Southern Africa Tour. In 1992, he won the Protea Assurance South African Open, his first professional win. He won the tour's Order of Merit during the 1991/92 and 1994/95 seasons.
In 1993, Els won his first tournament outside of South Africa at the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan. Open.
Els was tied with Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts after 72 holes and they went to an 18-hole playoff the next day. In spite of starting the playoff bogey-triple bogey,[7] Els was able to match Roberts' score of 74.
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Els brought his game all around the world in his young career winning the Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour, and the Toyota World Match Play Championship defeating once again Colin Montgomerie 4 & 2. The following year, Els defended his World Match Play Championship, defeating Steve Elkington 3 & 1.
In 1996, Els won his third straight World Match Play Championship at Wentworth, defeating Vijay Singh in the final 3 & 2.
2002 was arguably Els's best year, which started with a win at the Heineken Classic at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club. Then went to America and outplayed World Number one Tiger Woods to lift the Genuity Championship title. The premier moment of the season was surely his Open Championship triumph in very tough conditions at Muirfield.
Els overcame a four-man playoff to take home the famous Claret Jug trophy for the first time, also quieting his critics about his mental toughness.
2003 gave Els his first European Tour Order of Merit. Although playing fewer events than his competitors Els won four times and had three runners-up.
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To top off the season Els won the World Match Play title for a record-tying fifth time.
2004 was another successful year as Els won 6 times on both tours, including big wins at Memorial, WGC-American Express Championship and his sixth World Match Play Championship, a new record.
His success did not stop there. Els had a 14-foot (4.3 m) putt for birdie on the final hole of regulation for the Open at Royal Troon, but he missed the putt and lost in the playoff. Els ended the major season with a fourth-place finish in the PGA Championship, where a three-putt on the 72nd hole would cost him a place in the playoff.
2004 was the start of the "Big Five era", the era in golf in which Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Phil Mickelson dominated the game. The five switched up and down the top five positions in the World Golf Ranking; most notably Vijay Singh's derailment of Tiger Woods as the best golfer in the world. The five stayed, for the most part, in the top five spots from 2004 until the start of 2007.
On 2 March 2008, Els won the Honda Classic contested at PGA National's Championship Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Els shot a final round 67 in tough windy conditions, which was enough to give him the win by one stroke over Luke Donald. The win marked the end of a three and a half-year-long stretch without a win on the PGA Tour for Els.
Els finally did break his winless streak by capturing the WGC-CA Championship at Doral in 2010, winning by four strokes over fellow countryman Charl Schwartzel. It was Els's second WGC tournament title. The victory also saw Els overtake Colin Montgomerie to become the career money leader on the European Tour. Els then won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill two weeks later. It was his 18th PGA Tour victory, and his second in as many starts. The win at Bay Hill also vaulted Els to the top of the FedEx Cup standings.
Els started the 2012 season in his home country at the Volvo Golf Champions where he finished in a tie for second place after he and Retief Goosen lost out in a playoff to Branden Grace. Els was next in contention at the Transitions Championship, where he needed a win to qualify for the 2012 Masters. Els led the tournament for most of the final round and had the lead outright until the 16th hole. However, he finished the tournament bogey-bogey missing a short three-footer on the last hole to make a playoff. The tournament was eventually won by Luke Donald.
Els surprised the golfing world by winning the 2012 Open Championship in July by birding the 72nd hole. Adam Scott led by four shots after a birdie at the 14th hole, but bogeyed the final four holes to miss a playoff with Els by one stroke. Els's win rejuvenated his career and earned him 5-year exemptions to the other 3 majors.
In June 2013, Els won for the first time since the 2012 Open Championship at the BMW International Open in Munich, Germany. He claimed a wire-to-wire victory with a one-stroke win over Thomas Bjørn for his 28th European Tour title.
In January 2020, Els joined the PGA Tour Champions shortly after his 50th birthday. In March 2020, Els won the Hoag Classic in Newport Beach, California. In October 2020, Els won the SAS Championship in Cary, North Carolina.
Ernie Els Simple Game Changing Golf Tip
Personal Life and Philanthropy
Els married his wife Liezl in 1998 in Cape Town, and they have two children, Samantha and Ben. In 2008, after Els started to display an "Autism Speaks" logo on his golf bag it was announced that their then five-year-old son was autistic. Their main residence is at the Wentworth Estate near Wentworth Golf Club in the south of England.
Unlike most of his contemporaries, Els is known for his willingness to participate in tournaments all around the world, having played regularly in European Tour-sanctioned events in Asia, Australasia and his native country of South Africa. He says that his globe-trotting schedule is in recognition of the global nature of golf. This has caused some friction with the PGA Tour, an organisation that would prefer Els to play more tournaments in the United States.
The Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation was established in 1999. It has the objective of identifying youths from under-privileged backgrounds who show talent and potential in the game of golf. The first Friendship Cup was played in 2006 which is a match play competition, played in a Ryder Cup type format. In the cup, Els's foundation plays against the foundation of Tiger Woods.
Since his son's autism diagnosis, Els and his wife have been active in charities devoted to that condition. This involvement has increased as Ben has reached school age. In 2009, Els launched an annual charity golf event, the Els for Autism Pro-Am, held at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens near his South Florida residence during the PGA Tour's March swing into the area. The first event, which featured many PGA Tour and Champions Tour golfers, raised $725,000 for The Renaissance Learning Center, a nonprofit charter school in the area for autistic children.
Ernie Els co-founded an athletic scholarship agency called (ASM Scholarships), in October 2018. The company is a college recruiting service that works with athletes worldwide from various sports and helps them secure athletic scholarships to American universities within the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA. The company is owned by the ASM Sports Group, which has built a pathway for athletes from high school to college then professional sports or a career in a sporting job.
In 2020 the company helped over 1000 athletes secure sport scholarships on average of $35,000 per year for student athletes, a total of $35,000,000.
Ernie Els: Career Statistics
Here's a summary of Ernie Els's achievements and career statistics:
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Theodore Ernest Els |
| Nickname | The Big Easy |
| Born | October 17, 1969 |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Turned Professional | 1989 |
| PGA Tour Wins | 19 |
| European Tour Wins | 28 |
| Major Championships | 4 |
