Full Name: Ernie Els
Date of Birth: 17 th October, 1969
Country: South Africa
Profile: As a kid, Ernie Els was interested in a wide variety of sports. He used to play cricket, rugby, tennis and, of course, golf. He had even won tournaments in tennis but later decided to take up golf as his profession. He won his first golfing tournament at the Junior World Golf Championship in 1984 at the age of 14.
He started his career as a professional in 1989 on the Sunshine Tour and in the very same year lifted the first title of his career. He kept on dominating the tour and won a number of tournaments. He won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit crown twice: once in 1991 and then in 1994. He qualified for the European Tour as well as the US PGA Tour in the next season and started playing there more regularly. In 1994 he won his first major title: the US Open. This is the first of the three major titles he has won so far. He won this major for the second time in 1997. He followed that up with a victory at the Open Championship in 2002. Besides this he has finished second on four occasions in the majors.
He also won his first title on the European Tour in 1994. Since then, he has won a host of tournaments around the world. His performance sky rocketed his ranking and he became one of the top five golfers in the world. He had also held the top spot for a considerable period of time. He also holds the record of being in the top 10 for the most number of weeks, i.e., 646 weeks. According to the Official World Golf rankings, he is currently placed eighth on the list. He has also won seven Alfred Dunhill Cups, three World Cups and two Presidents Cups in team play.
Els is among the few players who plays all round the world. This has been a bone of contention for the US PGA Tour authorities as they want him to play more on the tour. Its director, Tim Finchem had even asked him to do so in a letter in late 2004, which Els had made public. This brought out a cry of protest amongst golfers and the matter was then put to rest.
Els also owns a wine-making company in South Africa as well as a golf course designing company. The money earned from the golfing business is used for teaching golf to underprivileged children in South Africa.
Tournaments won
Till date, Ernie Els has won a whooping 64 tournaments till now. It includes 15 US PGA Tour tournaments and 21 European Tour victories. The rest of them he had won mainly on the Sunshine Tour as well as tournaments around the world. Among his various victories, there are four major tournaments. Here is a list of tournaments that he has won so far in his career.
- 2006: Dunhill Championship (ET)
- 2005: Dubai Desert Classic; Qatar Masters; BMW Asian Open (ET)
- 2004: Sony Open in Hawaii; Memorial Tournament; WGC-American Express Championship (US PGA); Heineken Classic; HSBC World Matchplay Championship (ET); Nelson Mandela Invitational (OT)
- 2003: Mercedes Championships; Sony Open in Hawaii (USPGA); Heineken Classic; Johnnie Walker Classic; Barclays Scottish Open; Omega European Masters; HSBC World Matchplay Championship (ET)
- 2002: Genuity Championship; The Open Championship (US PGA); Heineken Classic; Dubai Desert Classic (ET); Nedbank Golf Challenge; Cisco World Match Play Championship (OT)
- 2001: Vodacom Players Championship (OT)
- 2000: The International (US PGA); Standard Life Loch Lomond (ET); Nedbank Golf Challenge (OT)
- 1999: Nissan Open (US PGA); Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship (ET); Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge (OT)
- 1998: Bay Hill Invitational (US PGA Tour); South African Open
- 1997: US Open; Buick Classic (US PGA); Johnnie Walker Classic (ET); PGA Grand Sla of Golf (OT)
- 1996: Buick Classic (US PGA); Toyota World Match Play Championship; Philips South African Open (OT)
- 1995: GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic (US PGA); Lexington South African PGA (ET); Toyota World Match Play Championship; Bells Cup (OT)
- 1994: US Open (US PGA); Dubai Desert Classic (ET); Toyota World Match Play Championship (OT)
- 1993: Dunlop Phoenix (OT)
- 1992: Protea Assurance South African Open; Lexington South African PGA Championship; South African Masters; Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic; First National Bank Players Championship; Goodyear Classic (OT)
- 1991: Amatola Sun Classic (OT)
- 1990: The International
- 1989: South African Amateur Stroke Play Championship (OT)
US PGA= US PGA Tour; ET= European Tour; OT= Other Tours
