Ernie Els nominated to World Golf Hall of Fame
Ernie Els may not be familiar with the expression, “Third time’s a charm.” It seems he prefers to get it done the first time around.
In his first time on the World Golf Hall of Fame ballot, the 40-year-old Els was elected into the prestigious club. The three-time major champion received 66 per cent of the vote from
a group of Hall of Fame members, journalists, and golf officials.
Els will headline this year’s inductees, which also include two-time major champions Doug Ford and Jock Hutchison.
The induction ceremony will take place at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida on 9 May.
Unlike other sports, golfers do not need to be retired to be inducted into their Hall of Fame. This much is obvious when one looks at the season that Els is enjoying this year on the PGA
Tour. He is far from retired.
He is ranked third on this year’s PGA Tour money list going into the season-ending Tour Championship this week. A win there would give him three victories for the season and make him the
front-runner for this year’s Player of the Year award.
The affable South-African has 62 victories worldwide and has represented the game of golf and his country of South Africa with professionalism and class over his 21-year career. The former
number-one player in the world is known to fans and the media as “The Big Easy” because of his smooth and seemingly-effortless swing as well as his relaxed attitude on the course. He holds the record for most consecutive weeks ranked in the top-ten of the
World Golf Ranking at 750 and has played six times for the international squad at the President’s Cup.
The three major championships for the 6ft 3in golfer include the 1994 and 1997 U.S. Opens and the 2002 British Open. He has had close calls in other majors over his career, including runner-up
finishes at the 2000 and 2004 Masters and third-place finishes at the 1995 and 2007 PGA Championships.
Of his 62 career worldwide wins, Els has won 18 of them on the PGA Tour, 25 on the European Tour, 15 on the Sunshine Tour, and 13 in other various tour events.
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