I’m going to find it impossible to resist starting this week’s report without a mention to the Springboks [South African National Rugby team] for an unbelievable win against the New Zealand All Blacks in the Rugby Championship in Jo’burg at the weekend!
It was such a great match and of course it ended with that cool penalty kick under huge pressure by Pat Lambie from inside his own half to snatch the win with just a couple of minutes left on the clock. That’s like having a 10-footer on the 72nd green to win a golf tournament! That was the first defeat for the All Blacks in almost two years, so well done to all the boys; I bet that felt good.
Moving onto last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, congratulations to Oliver Wilson on an amazing victory. Oliver’s had a tough time of it these past few years, but an invitation to this special event at the Home of Golf enabled him to turn his fortunes around in spectacular fashion. I love that kind of story and I know that everyone on the European Tour is so pleased for him. I think this is one of the reasons that this event is so special.
For me, it is an enjoyable week but as always I am there to win a golf tournament. My partner this year was Johann Rupert and the highlight of our week was a bogey-free 65 on the Old Course on Saturday, but other than that we didn’t really get it going out there. The courses were in great shape, though, and the weather behaved most of the week.
We’re now back home in Florida for a couple of days before we fly to Las Vegas for the annual Els for Autism Golf Challenge Grand Finale taking place this coming weekend. As well as being a fantastic, fun few days of golf and networking, this event gives Liezl and me the opportunity to meet and personally thank many of the individuals and teams from the Challenge for their magnificent fundraising efforts during the year. This was the best year ever – we exceeded our $2.5 million target and that brings the total money raised since the inaugural series in 2011 to more than $9 million. We’re so humbled by everyone’s support.
The passion and dedication our donors and competitors bring to the regional events held across America and Canada between March and September symbolises everything that Els for Autism stands for. They are an inspirational group of people and it is thanks to them that we’ve broken ground this year on the Els Center of Excellence. Our dreams of changing the lives of people on the autism spectrum are fast becoming a reality. We anticipate the Lower School and Center of Excellence Auditorium building, which will be at the heart of the global outreach programs, will open their doors in August 2015.
Honestly, it is amazing how far we’ve come since setting up the Golf Challenge in 2011 and of course this would not have been possible without the goodwill of our generous organising sponsors – Adams Golf, SAP, Breitling USA, Wine Spectator, RBC and The Trump Organization – alongside our contributing sponsors that include Boeing, Floridian National Golf Club, Pinehurst, The Honda Classic, Maui Jim, Ecco, Mantis, IRISH LINKS, South African Airways, TPC, The Globe and Mail, Southwest Airlines and GOLF Magazine. We really appreciate everything they do for Els for Autism.
Another heartwarming success story these past 18 months has been the launch and success of the #GameON Autism clinic program. The team have created a curriculum and program in association with The First Tee and PGA of America that allows us to make a difference with programming in each location we take an event to. Obviously I can’t attend all of these but I always enjoy being able to participate in the one in Las Vegas and see the smile on the faces and positive attitude they bring.
So, for everyone that has qualified for the Las Vegas weekend, thank you so much. I look forward to welcoming you there and we can promise you a memorable few days. You all deserve it.
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