It’s been a while since my last update, so there’s a fair bit of news to catch-up on.
First of all, a quick look back on the PGA TOUR’s Hero World Challenge, which took place recently in the Bahamas at Albany (pictured below), an Ernie Els Design layout. This is the third straight year that Albany has hosted this event and, arguably, this one drew more attention than ever due to it marking Tiger’s long-awaited return to competitive action. Great news then, that the golfing world could see this wonderful layout in all its glory. Well done to the team at Albany, and to the sponsors and organisers, for presenting the golf course so beautifully. Thanks also to the guys at the Golf Channel for having me in the commentary booth. It was actually a lot of fun. Let’s hope the viewers thought so, too!
From the sunny Bahamas we next travelled to a snowy New York for last weekend’s Heisman Awards gala dinner. It was an honour and a pleasure to be able to attend the event and to collect the Heisman Humanitarian Award on behalf of Liezl and the whole team at The Els for Autism Foundation (click here for the full story). The main story, and the main winner, was Baker Mayfield who picked up the Heisman Memorial Trophy, the most prestigious honour in college football. It’s certainly a well-deserved award, after the incredible season that Baker has had. Big congrats to him.
Elsewhere, we were pleased to hear this month that the R&A will continue its support of The Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation. Our two organisations have many shared passions, not least a determination to grow the game of golf and give opportunities to kids through golf. This renewed endorsement, and financial commitment, from the R&A means a lot to us. We’re very grateful and, of course, it helps support the work that we’re doing in South Africa. Please click here if you want to find out more about The Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation.
On a different note, many of you will now be aware of our new Els Iced Coffee brand, which launched earlier this year and has been gaining traction and popularity in selected markets across the US. You can visit the dedicated website here: http://elsicedcoffee.com. Anyway, after much hard work from the team, we’re happy to say that the product is now available to order online. Please click here if that interests you. For now, this is a US-based service only, but we hope to be in a position before too long to roll this out internationally. That’s our long-term goal.
Okay, that’s about it for now. I’ll be in South Africa for the remainder of December and into the New Year. We’ll be hosting our bi-annual Ernie Els Invitational, which is always a really fun event and helps raise valuable funds for our Foundation. Mostly, though, this visit home is a family vacation and an opportunity for us see friends and family; it’s a special time of the year for us. Once the calendar ticks over into the New Year, we’ll then turn our attentions to the BMW SA Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni, which is being played at beautiful Glendower GC from Jan 11-14. I’ll write more about that a bit nearer the time. Needless to say, though, it promises to be another great week for South African golf.
Finally, I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone out there who continues to support me with good wishes from outside the ropes and via social media. Honestly, it means a lot to me, so thank you again. I hope you enjoy the festive season and I send my personal best wishes to you all for a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.
Follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.
