It’s time for another update, which gives me a chance to keep you up to speed on everything that’s happening with me on and off the golf course.
First of all, big congrats to Patrick Reed on securing his first Major at Augusta at the weekend. You know, in many ways it’s tough watching on TV when what you really want is to be there in the mix yourself, but putting on my impartial sports’ fan hat, I’ve got to say I enjoyed the coverage. The scoring was incredible and Patrick deserves that Green Jacket. He made some clutch putts and showed all the qualities that you need to win a Major. It’s tough; no one gives you these things!
For me, I can’t wait to get back into the swing of competitive golf again in next week’s Valero Texas Open. Having played all four rounds in each of my last three PGA TOUR events – the Valspar, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Houston Open – I’m looking to build some more momentum and step-up my results. We’ve been working hard on my game at home in Florida and I’m feeling in good shape physically.
Before all that, I’ll be flying to Japan at the weekend for a sponsors’ engagement with ISPS HANDA. We signed an agreement at the start of this year and I’m proud to be an ambassador for a company that supports professional and grassroots golf and also does some amazing work in aid of blind and disabled golf. This will be our first proper outing together and I’m looking forward to it.
Moving on to other news, as many of you will know April is official Autism Awareness Month and our team has a bunch of initiatives to promote awareness and raise funds to help individuals and families on the spectrum. If you’d like to get show support or get involved, please visit the website: http://www.elsforautism.org.
On the subject of Els for Autism, our 2018 Drive to Sun City series, supported by Imperial KWS Logistics, is well underway and attracting a strong turnout. As in previous years, my old friend Nico Van Rensburg has pulled together a great schedule on some wonderful golf courses. Our latest stop was at Omeya Golf Club Namibia, a beautiful location. When you visit Namibia you can see why they sometimes call it ‘God’s own country’. I hear the hospitality was off the charts and everyone left with a slower heart rate then when they arrived!
On behalf of the whole team, thanks to everyone who took part and to Dan Zwiebel, our custodian for the day. Thanks to our event sponsor, Nedbank Namibia, and also Lionel Matthews. Congrats to winners XL Zang and Min Deng, scoring 47 points; they earn a spot in the Grand Final at spectacular Lost City on 31 October to 1 November. Our next golf day is on 12 April in Durban at the beautiful Zimbali Golf Estate. For more details on how you can enter this or any of the remaining events on the schedule, visit the website: http://www.ernieelscentre4autism.co.za/events.asp.
Just one final thing; I want to send my congratulations and best wishes to the team at The Els Club Dubai as they celebrate their 10th anniversary this month. Where does the time go? I clearly remember those early site visits with Greg Letsche when we first envisaged the concept of a ‘desert links’. We were so excited about what we could potentially create there and it’s turned out just as we’d planned (pictured below). The club is thriving, the golf course has matured beautifully and, I think it’s fair to say, sets the bar for course conditioning in that region. The guys are doing a great job and if you’re ever in Dubai, I urge you to tee it up at The Els Club. You’ll love it.
Okay, that’s it for now. Follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.
