Ernie’s Latest News – 5 August

05 Aug

At last week’s Quicken Loans National my usual preparations basically went out of the window when we had to visit hospital on Wednesday for a suspected kidney stones condition.

Luckily, it turned out to be a muscle spasm and I was able to get some treatment on it and with a late tee time was able to go out the next day and shoot a 7-under par 64. The swing felt good. The putter – a new addition to the bag last week – worked well, too.

It was slightly frustrating to not follow that up, despite a nice third round 68. There are just a few bad holes still holding me back, not only in terms of my score – that’s obvious – but also with momentum. At times like this you have to take heart from the good stuff. For instance, last week at RTJ my birdie-tally was similar in number to a lot of the guys at the top of the leaderboard; in fact, that’s been the case at many tournaments this year and it shows that my game is there. We just need to unlock some consistency, some momentum, and then the confidence quickly follows.

It’s the Bridgestone Invitational this week, a tournament that I’ve missed just once since it began in 1999 and that was enforced through injury in 2005. I’ll miss it again this year, though, having not qualified through the World Golf Rankings. I’ll now make good use of this week off, with a mix of hard work and rest so that I’m as fully prepared as I can be to try to play my best golf at next week’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits alongside the banks of Lake Michigan. Interestingly, it will be the third Major of 2015 played at a links or links-style golf course – a good year for the purists! You’ll recall we were here for the PGA in 2010 and 2004, when I was one shot out of the playoff. I’m looking forward to returning.

In the meantime, there are a few other items of news. First of all, a quick shout-out to Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation member Keelan Van Wyk who played some very tidy golf to finish third in the recent U.S Kids Golf Foundation Teen World Championship at Pinehurst. As I discovered at Keelan’s age when winning the World Junior in San Diego, these events are incredibly good for your development as a golfer and the experience will serve him well going forward. We wish him every success.

Away from the golf course it’s exciting to announce that we’ll be opening our third Big Easy Winebar & Grill in October, this at the Durban Hilton. The ethos of the Big Easy Winebar & Grill is showcasing a seasonally driven menu combining fresh-from-the-grill food and local specialties in a fun, relaxed environment; somewhere to enjoy time with friends and family over a great bottle of wine and a meal. That’s what I tend to look for personally in a dining experience, so this is my kind of restaurant in every sense. We’re delighted to partner with one of the world’s most iconic hotel brands, Hilton, and in Durban we have another wonderful location with its laid-back vibe and idyllic weather. Altogether it’s a great fit and we’re sure this will be as successful as our existing Big Easy Winebar & Grill outlets in Stellenbosch and The Els Club Dubai. Click here for the full story.

Finally, thank you to everyone who competed in the Els for Autism Golf Challenge event on Monday at The Country Club in Castle Pines and best wishes to those taking part in the autism awareness day this week at Hoakalei Country Club (pictured below), one of our design projects located at the stunning Ewa Beach in Hawaii. Thanks for your support. For anyone interested in taking part in this year’s Golf Challenge, there are places up for grabs at many standout locations between now and the series conclusion at Trump National, Jupiter, in October. Click here to view the full 2015 event schedule.

That’s it for now. Follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.

Hoakalei #13

Sponsors

Partners

Connect

Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
© 2024, Ernie Els   A / A Website by Noesis