The 8th Annual Wine Spectator and Cigar Aficionado Els for Autism Pro Am took place on March 7 at Old Palm Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
This already special day was made extraordinary with one magic moment, when Rickie Fowler hit a hole-in-one to win $1 million for the charity. “There’s kind of nothing to lose,” Fowler told the Golf Channel after making the hole-in-one. “Just having fun. It’s a small target. It doesn’t happen very often. Pretty cool to do that for Ernie and the [Els for Autism] foundation.”
The Annual Wine Spectator and Cigar Aficionado Els for Autism Pro Am – a private, invitation-only event – has become a firm fixture on the March golfing calendar…the unofficial fifth stop on golf’s Florida Swing, you might say. As is now traditional, the Hole-In-One Challenge sponsored by SAP and Ketel One Vodka takes place immediately after the Pro Am round is completed. By that stage Fowler had changed out of his golf shoes into sneakers, he had no golf glove and he needed to borrow a wedge from Luke Donald. Not that any of that mattered! Fowler’s shot looked perfect from the moment the ball left the club.
Later in the day, Fowler posted a photo on his Instagram page and captioned it: “Epic Monday! One of the coolest moments in my life making a hole-in-one earning $1,000,000 for @ernieelsgolf #ElsForAutism.”
“Unbelievable! This guy is my hero,” said Ernie as he gave Fowler a bear hug and lifted him off the ground, with jubilant scenes taking place all around. “I will always remember this moment; I almost can’t believe it happened. Again, we had amazing support from my fellow pros and they know how much we appreciate it.”
It was an amazing finale to a wonderful day of fun and fundraising. As in previous years, the 2016 Pro Am featured a star-studded line-up (pictured below): Ernie Els, Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Tringale, Camilo Villegas, Charl Schwartzel, Daniel Berger, Greg Chalmers, Jack Nicklaus, Keegan Bradley, K.J. Choi, Louis Oosthuizen, Luke Donald, Nick Price, Retief Goosen, Rich Beem, Rory McIlroy, Rory Sabbatini, Thomas Aiken, Tony Finau and Vijay Singh. To save you the math, this group of 22 players boasts an astonishing 39 Major Championship victories combined.
These Tour pros are joined by an enthusiastic group of amateurs, thrilled to be inside the ropes with a legendary cast of some of the greatest names in golf, and there is wonderful support from a dedicated panel of prestige brands. At the helm alongside Ernie and Liezl are the event’s founders, and close personal friends of the Els family, Marvin R. Shanken (pictured below with Ernie, Liezl and Rickie Fowler), editor and publisher of Cigar Aficionado and Wine Spectator magazines, and Johann Rupert, chairman of Richemont.
The amount raised at this year’s Pro Am brings the total fundraising pot to $8.82 million since the event’s inception in 2009. This has helped lay the foundations and, in August 2015, open the doors to a new state-of-the-art Els Center of Excellence dedicated to helping individuals and families globally on the autism spectrum. For more information on The Els for Autism Foundation, please click here.
Follow Ernie on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.
