|
Player Profile
Ernie Els
|
| Since turning pro in 1989, Ernie Els has won 50 events
including 14 on the PGA Tour and 3 major championships. He has won 3 events already in
2004 and currently (June 7th, 2004) is ranked number two in the world. |
| BIOGRAPHY |
FULL NAME: Ernie Els
HEIGHT: 6-3 (191cm)
WEIGHT: 210 (95kg)
BIRTHDATE: October 17, 1969
BIRTHPLACE: Johannesburg, South Africa
RESIDENCES: Wentworth, England & George, South Africa
FAMILY: Wife, Liezl; Samantha (5/26/99), Ben (10/6/02)
SPECIAL INTERESTS: Movies, reading, sports
TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1989
JOINED PGA TOUR: 1994
EXEMPT STATUS: Winner, 1997 U.S. Open (through 2007)
|
Photo - Getty Images
|
|
1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont CC, Penn.
Getty Images
|
His 14 PGA TOUR victories were achieved
at the following events: 1994 U.S. Open Championship. 1995
GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic. 1996 Buick Classic. 1997 U.S.
Open Championship, Buick Classic. 1998 Bay Hill Invitational.
1999 Nissan Open. 2000 The International Presented by Qwest.
2002 Genuity Championship, British Open Championship.
2003 Mercedes Championship, Sony Open in Hawaii. 2004 Sony
Open in Hawaii, the Memorial Tournament.
In addition, he has won 36 other tournaments on the European Tour, South
African Tour, Japan Tour and Australasian Tour and has won at least one event somewhere in
the world every year since 1992.
|
| He was granted lifetime exemption on the European Tour in 1999 and is
currently leading the 2004 Volvo Order of Merit, the European Tour's official money list.
The earnings from his win at the Memorial Tournament last week moved him up into third
place on the 2004 PGA Money List with $3,071,125. Of the 51 Official World Ranking
events he has competed in over the last two years he has only failed to pick up points
twice and one of those was due to withdrawing from the event because of the birth of his
son. Has finished in the top ten in all six European Tour events entered this year and
five of eight PGA Tour events, the last four consecutive. |
2002 Open at Muirfield, Scotland.
Getty Images
|
1997 U.S. Open at Congressional CC, Bethesda, Maryland with Liezl.
Getty Images
|
His commitment to his golf career is matched by his commitment to his
family. Earlier this year he withdrew from the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship to be
with his daughter on her first day at school. And when Ernie Els is not playing golf?
He is heavily involved in encouraging junior golf in South Africa and helping the
underprivileged to achieve their potential. Then there's his work with the handicapped.
And don't forget golf course design. |
| At 34 years old Ernie Els has already achieved enough to fill
a book and this profile just picks out a few of the highlights. For more
information about Ernie Els, read his PGA
Tour bio, his European
Tour bio or visit his official website, www.ernieels.com. |
|
|
|
Copyright Notice: All photographs on this page are reproduced
under license from Getty Images and are protected by worldwide copyright laws.
Click on photographs to view the full size image in a new browser window. |
|
|
