Despite falling short at Olympic,
Els finds real reasons for hope
When Ernie Els took the 1997 U.S. Open at Congressional, the next major after 21-year-old Tiger Woods won the Masters by 12 strokes, it seemed as if he would
play the role of Arnold Palmer while Woods chased down
Jack Nicklaus. The Big Easy looked poised to pick off
several majors on Tiger’s way to breaking Jack’s record
of 18. But with three majors, and that still is a great
number, it feels as if Els has underachieved.
The 6-foot- 3 South African with a tempo to die for
and incongruously soft hands for a guy the size of a
tight end, burst on the scene when he won the 1994
U.S. Open at Oakmont in a playoff with Loren Roberts
and Colin Montgomerie at age 24. When he added that
second Open at Congressional three years later,
it seemed as if Woods had his co-star. But a funny
thing happened on the way to the rivalry: Woods broke
Els’ spirit in 2000 when he had perhaps the greatest
year in the history of the sport.
Els finished second in three
majors in 2000, first to Vijay Singh
at the Masters and then twice to
Woods—by 15 strokes in the U.S.
Open at Pebble Beach and by eight
in the British Open at St. Andrews.
There were two telling incidents at
that British Open. After a good early
round Els faced the media and the
second question was about Woods,
The only other major Els would add was the 2002
British Open. Along the way the Big Easy had plenty
of heartbreaks, finishing second in the Masters twice,
third in the PGA Championship twice and losing a Brit-
ish Open playoff to Todd Hamilton, one of three runner-
up finishes in the oldest major. In 2005 he had another
setback when he injured his knee while sailing and
needed surgery.
“I just pulled that shot on 16,” Els said about his third
shot to the par 5 that ended up in a short-side collection
area from which he could not save par, turning a potential
birdie hole into a bogey. “I wasn’t meaning to go at that
flag. I pulled it. And I missed the fairway on 17, and I guess
I misread the putt,” he said about the eight-foot birdie miss
on the reachable-in-two par 5 that ended his chances.
Els and his wife, Liezl, run the Els for Autism
Foundation, which is raising money to build a center in
South Florida to help families of those with autism, a
disability that affects their son, Ben. When Els showed
up at a tournament in 2008 with an “Autism Speaks”
logo on his golf bag, many thought a weight would lift
“I was a lot calmer. I felt in control. So that’s a good
sign. We’ve got two majors left, and I’m going to take
a nice break now and try to regroup and come back.
I got the belief back.”—Ernie Els
from his shoulders now that he was publicly acknowledging that Ben, then 5, was autistic. But that has
not been the case, mostly because Els has struggled
with the putter.
Still, Els is taking his latest major championship dis-
appointment as a sign that he still has enough game to
win a major. “I thought I was a lot calmer,” Els said about
his performance Sunday. “I felt in control. So that’s a
good sign. We’ve got two majors left, and I’m going to
take a nice break now and try to regroup and come back.
I got the belief back.”
Belief is what Ernie lost in 2000. But with no dominant
golfer in the game now— 15 different players have won the
last 15 majors—the 42-year-old Els has an opportunity to
pick up another major or two before he calls it quits. He
still has a chance to come through on some of that enor-
mous promise with which he teased us 18 years ago. n
