Charl Schwartzel seeks Ernie Els’s wisdom for another major win at US Open
South African Charl Schwartzel, winner of the coveted Masters at Augusta, is again seeking the advice of the celebrated major winners to tame down the Congressional in the upcoming US Open. Schwartzel pulled in a brilliant final round display at Augusta
and pushed himself into contention for the top slot, with record-breaking four consecutive birdies on the last holes. He snatched the title, two shots clear of Australian trailblazer, Jason Day.
Schwartzel later attributed his success much to the thorough briefing he received from the “Golden Bear” of the sport, Jack Nicklaus, and revealed that Nicklaus had given him a complete overview of all the 18 holes and how he used to select holes for his
move.
“He actually took the time to take me through all 18 holes the way he used to think around Augusta and the way he used to play it, which flags he used to attack,” Schwartzel said the day he won the green jacket.
This time around, Schwartzel has decided to seek help from his countrymen and the most celebrated South African golfer Ernie Els. The Hall of Fame golfer has won the US Open back in 1997 when he domesticated the wild Congressional to reach the top. Els had
also won the event back in 1994 and is also the winner of Open Championship in 2002. His words of wisdom can prove to be priceless for the aspiring Schwartzel.
“I am planning to play Congressional next week,” Schwartzel told Reuters after concluding his second round at the Memorial tournament. “I still need to speak to Ernie about it. I will definitely play with (British Open champion) Louis (Oosthuizen) but we
are going to see if we can corner Ernie.”
If Schwartzel goes on to win his second major title in the US Open next week, it will be a third major win by the South Africans in the last four majors held. Currently resting at the 11th position in Official World Golf Rankings, Schwartzel turned
professional in 2002 and since then, has done a splendid job for his country. He has played both in European Tour, the PGA Tour as well as the Sunshine Tour and has won eight professional events during his tenure. He has performed consistently well in the
year 2010 when he recorded three Top-20 finishes in the majors and went over to win the first major of the year in 2011.
His stellar victory at the Masters made him the third South African to rule the Augusta leaderboard after Gary Player and Trevor Immelman. He lifted the title exactly after 50 years when Player had won his first major event. After his success, Schwartzel
moved from 29th place in the OWGR to 11th.
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