Ernie Els

Theodore Ernest "Ernie" Els (born October 17, 1969) is a South African golfer who has been one of the top professional players in the world since the mid-1990s. He is known as "The Big Easy," not only for his imposing physical stature (he stands about 6-foot-3), but also for his fluid, seemingly effortless golf swing.

1 Scouting Report
2 Swing Sequence
3 Early life
4 Professional career
5 References
6 Related Articles
- 6.1 Recent Ernie Els ArmchairGM Stories

[edit] Scouting Report

Strengths

Still possesses maybe the prettiest swing in golf
Produces effortless power off the tee
Has absolutely brilliant touch around the greens and out of the sand
Can be an artist on the green when his putter gets hot
Has bounced back well from the injuries that plagued him a few years ago

Weaknesses

Can struggle to hit the fairway with his driver at times
Iron play, once an Els hallmark, has declined in recent years
No longer among the very longest hitters on Tour

Report Card

Driving Distance	B
Driving Accuracy	D
Iron Play	B-
Short Game	A
Putting	B+
Mental Game	B

[edit] Swing Sequence

Mechanically, Els' swing is picture-perfect, with great tempo:

[edit] Early life

Els was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Growing up in South Africa, he played rugby, cricket, tennis, and, starting at age 8, golf. He was a skilled junior tennis player and won the Eastern Transvaal Junior Championships at age 13. But by age 14 he decided to focus only on golf.

Els first achieved prominence in 1984, when he won the Junior World Golf Championship in the Boys 13-14 category. (The Boys 9-10 category that year was won by Tiger Woods.)

[edit] Professional career

Els turned professional at the end of 1989, and won his first professional tournament in 1991 on the Southern Africa Tour (today the Sunshine Tour).

Among his numerous victories since are three major championships: Els won the US Open in 1994 and 1997, and the British Open in 2002.

Other highlights in Ernie's career include topping the 2003 and 2004 European Tour Order of Merit (money list), and winning the World Match Play Championship a record six times. He has held the number one spot in the Official World Golf Rankings and has consistently ranked among the top five. In 2003 he was voted 37th on the SABC3's Great South Africans.

Unlike most of his contemporaries, Els is known for his willingness to participate in tournaments all around the world (he regularly plays 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, but it has caused some friction with the U.S. PGA TOUR, an organization that would prefer Els to play more tournaments in the United States. In late 2004, Tim Finchem, the director of the PGA Tour, wrote quite a firm letter to Ernie asking him to do so, but Els publicized and rejected this request. The PGA Tour's attitude caused considerable offense in the golfing world outside of North America. Els missed several months of the 2005 season due to injury, but won the second event on his return, the Dunhill Championship.

When not playing, Els has a golf course design business, a charitable foundation which supports golf among underprivileged youngsters in South Africa, and a highly-regarded wine-making business.