GOLF NEWS - Ernie Els enjoyed two of his greatest passions at Glendower Golf Club on Tuesday as he spoke about his love for the BMW South African Open, hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni, and his work with the Els for Autism organisation.
The five-time winner of the second oldest national Open in golf said he was excited by the young South African stars who had responded to “The Boys are Back” theme of the 107th playing of this championship.
“We have a great field this week. I’m excited to see a lot of the South Africans here. There are so many of them knocking on the door of doing great things,” Els said.
The field includes South African Major winners in Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman and Charl Schwartzel, as well as Branden Grace, Brandon Stone, Dylan Frittelli, Dean Burmester, Haydn Porteous, George Coetzee, Thomas Aiken and Erik van Rooyen.
“There are young players here on the brink of becoming great players, and winning the BMW SA Open could be a really great stepping stone for them,” said Els.
And he’s equally excited about the prospect of “bringing back some of the old magic” when it comes to his own game this week.
“Last year was a funny year with my daughter Samantha going to College and a couple of injuries that I had. But I feel healthy and I want to play some golf, especially in front of my home crowd. I’ve also got some new equipment I’m working with. Hopefully I can get some of the old magic back and have a good week.”
