Last week’s inaugural Els for Autism Pro Am, played at PGA National, looked almost like a who’s who of golf.
Among those taking part were Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Raymond Floyd, Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Tim Clark, Richard Sterne, Stuart Appleby, Robert Allenby, Jeev Milkha Singh and many more.
“We had fantastic support from some of the legends of golf and from a lot of my friends on Tour and I’m very grateful to all of them for taking part,” commented Ernie. “I want to say thanks also to all of the amateurs and to Marvin Shanken who was the driving force behind this event; also to PGA National for hosting this Pro Am. The event was a great success and raised more than $700,000 for Autism. All being well, it will become a firm fixture on the golfing calendar.”
It is 12 months since Ernie first went public with the news about his son Ben being affected by Autism. Ernie and his wife Liezl actively support Autism Speaks and Ernie’s golf bag bears the charity’s logo. They are committed to raising awareness for this condition and funds to help build a greater understanding of the causes and find potential cures.
Ernie is forming an American-based foundation, Els for Autism. In addition, Liezl works with the Autism Project of Palm Beach County, which is seeking to build a High School for autistic children with a separate Renaissance Learning Centre for younger children.
