Trevor Immelman considers Gary Player as “Ali” and Ernie Els as the “Arnold Palmer” of South Africa
Trevor Immelman, the rampaging golfer from South Africa who surged to stardom with his victory at the Masters in 2008, spoke on the “Morning Drive” on Friday, May 18 lauding Gary Player and Ernie Els as the giants from his homeland who have taken the sport
to an altogether different level.
Praising the achievements of nine major title holder, Player, Immelman termed him as the “Muhammad Ali” of the South African golf, an accolade which can rarely be argued in view of Player’s phenomenal achievements.
He said, "(Player) is kind of like the Muhammad Ali of South African sport. Mr. Player has been around, set the trend for South African sportsmen. He did it at the toughest times, playing during apartheid in areas where he wasn't always welcome. He really
did the hard yards for the rest of us and showed us it could be done”.
Immelman surged to the status of National hero when he took over the trailblazing Tiger Woods in the final round of the coveted Masters and landed the green jacket with a lead of three strokes.
Other than his glistening run in the 2008 Masters, Immelman has no fewer than ten professional titles on his belt, with five of them coming on the home-based Sunshine Tour.
Speaking about Els, Immelman regarded him as the King of South African golf, calling him the “Arnold Palmer” of South Africa.
He added, "Ernie would be like the Arnold Palmer of South African sport. Ernie really is a polarizing figure in South Africa. When he's down there, if he breathes, people know about it”.
South African sports in general and golf in particular, owes much of its success to its founding leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela who took special care to promote and develop the sport in the country.
Immelman turned professional in the year 1999 and joined the PGA Tour in the year 2005.
He started off his professional career from the European Tour after posting a successful season on the Sunshine Tour in the years 1999 and 2000.
He joined the European Tour in the year 2001 and won three titles on the tour, excluding the co-sanctioned Masters.
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