Ernie Els

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Growing up in Lambton, Germiston, South Africa, Els played rugby, cricket, tennis, and golf from age 8. He was a skilled junior tennis player, winning the Eastern Transvaal Junior Championships at 13. He learned golf from his father Neels at Germiston Golf course, and by 14 he was a scratch handicap, deciding to focus exclusively on golf. Els first achieved prominence in 1984 by winning the Junior World Golf Championship in the Boys 13–14 category, with Phil Mickelson finishing second. He won the South African Amateur a few months after his 17th birthday, becoming the youngest-ever winner, breaking Bobby Locke's 1935 record. He chose to stay in South Africa for mandatory military service starting January 1988, rather than play college golf in America. In 1989, he won the South African Amateur Stroke Play Championship before turning professional that same year.

In Their Own Story

At the 1994 U.S. Open, Ernie Els faced a playoff against Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts after 72 holes. Despite starting the 18-hole playoff with a bogey-triple bogey, Els matched Roberts' score of 74. He then parred the second hole of sudden death to win his first major championship. In 2002, Els overcame a four-man playoff in tough conditions at Muirfield to win The Open Championship, taking the Claret Jug for the first time and quieting critics about his mental toughness. At the 2012 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes, Els rose to fifteenth in the world rankings after winning his fourth major. Earlier, in 2000, Els was given honorary life membership of the European Tour for his two U.S. Opens and three World Match Play titles. In 2003, he set the all-time PGA Tour 72-hole record for most strokes under par at 31 under, winning the Mercedes Championship.

Reader's Guide

Ernie Els is a South African golfer who turned professional in 1989. He won his first professional event, the Protea Assurance South African Open, in 1992. His first major came at the 1994 U.S. Open, where he won an 18-hole playoff and sudden death. He won his second U.S. Open in 1997 at Congressional, becoming the first foreign player since Alex Smith (1906, 1910) to win the U.S. Open twice. Els won The Open Championship in 2002 at Muirfield and again in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St Annes. He topped the European Tour Order of Merit in 2003 and 2004, and won the World Match Play Championship a record seven times. He was the leading career money winner on the European Tour until overtaken by Lee Westwood in 2011, and was the first member to earn over €25,000,000 from European Tour events. He held the number one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking and until 2013 held the record for weeks ranked in the top ten with 788. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2010 and inducted in May 2011. In 2005, Els became the second golfer after Lee Westwood to win on all six of the big tours on the International Federation of PGA Tours, after winning the Qatar Masters. He now primarily plays on the PGA Tour Champions.

Did You Know?

• Els won the Junior World Golf Championship in the Boys 13–14 category in 1984, with Phil Mickelson finishing second.
• He became the youngest-ever winner of the South African Amateur, breaking Bobby Locke's record from 1935.
• Els set the all-time PGA Tour 72-hole record for most strokes under par at 31 under, winning the 2003 Mercedes Championship.
• He was the first member of the European Tour to earn over €25,000,000 from European Tour events.
• Until 2013, Els held the record for weeks ranked in the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking with 788.