Golf legend · World Golf Hall of Fame
Ernie Els
Els won four professional majors across 18 years: two U.S. Opens and two Opens, with a powerful, unhurried-looking swing and a genuinely international career.
Ask HH about Ernie Els
AT A GLANCE
Quick facts
- Country
- South Africa
- Professional majors
- 4
- U.S. Open titles
- 1994 and 1997
- Open titles
- 2002 and 2012
- Nickname
- The Big Easy
- World Golf Hall of Fame
- 2011Enshrinement year listed by the Hall
THE STORY
What to know
Why the swing mattered
His rhythm made considerable power look effortless. The Big Easy nickname describes the appearance, not a lack of competitive intensity or technical skill.
Two different championship tests
Oakmont and Congressional supplied his U.S. Opens. Muirfield required survival in difficult weather and a four-man playoff before his first Claret Jug.
The 2012 return
At Royal Lytham he closed with 68, including a back-nine 32 and a final-hole birdie. Adam Scott's late mistakes left Els the winner, ten years after Muirfield.
A legacy outside the ropes
The Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation supported South African talent, including Louis Oosthuizen. Els and his wife also established Els for Autism in 2009.
CAREER & GOLF JOURNEY
Notable moments
Oakmont breakthrough
Won his first U.S. Open after a playoff.
Muirfield
Outlasted a four-man Open playoff.
A second Claret Jug
Won at Royal Lytham, aged 42.
HH TAKE
Why this profile is worth exploring
Look beyond the smooth tempo. Els's majors show different forms of resilience: playoff execution, difficult conditions and staying close enough to take a late opportunity.