Ernie’s Latest News – 6 August

06 Aug

I must start by saying what a wonderful week we had in Fiji. Big thanks to everyone involved in the tournament, the fans and the local people. Really, it was a special experience for Liezl, Samantha and me.

It was our first time here and we were all struck by the beauty of this place. Seriously, what a wonderful destination to come play golf or just relax with the family. My old friend Vijay’s done a really nice job with this golf course, too. The whole event was a great showcase for Fiji.

And golf wise, it was a really enjoyable and satisfying week for me. Got off to a bit of a slow start on Thursday, but my scores improved with every day (72, 70, 69, 65) and I got myself into a position on Sunday where we had a sniff of a chance. It’s a while since I’ve been in contention in a tournament, so that felt nice.

On Sunday I set out to shoot 65, which I did, so I couldn’t have done much more. It was a lot of fun out there and, as I said, it felt good to be in the mix again. I was very pleased with my round and pleased with how the tournament panned out. I’m hitting the ball nicely, starting to get a bit more confidence in the putter…and seeing a few putts drop, which does wonders for your spirits! It’s exciting that the hard work we’ve put in at Queenwood this summer is paying off.

Obviously big congrats to Gaganjeet Bhullar on a great win. Hats off also to runner-up Anthony Quayle, who I played with in the final round. He’s got the whole package and under the gun he really brought his stuff. Shooting 29 on the back nine, breaking the course record with a 63, that is impressive.

Looking ahead, my next tournament is the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield CC. I’ve played there a bunch of times over the years and it’s always a pleasure to tee it up on this beautiful old Donald Ross layout. Let’s see if we can carry some of my good form from Fiji in there and have a strong week. That’s obviously the goal.

Just before we sign off, I want to send my congratulations to the boys from Laerskool Kruinsig (pictured below), the winning team at this year’s Ernie Els SA Primary Schools Championship at Humewood Golf Club. Well done also to the individual champion, Jordan Wessels, who finished 5-under par to win the title by 16 shots. That’s some playing young man! Thanks also to David Young at the SAGA for doing an excellent job running this event, now in its 8th year.

Finally, we’d appreciate it if you were able to show your support for Zac Blair, who has named Els for Autism as his designated charity in the new MetLife MatchUp contest on the PGA TOUR. Details of how to vote can be found here.

Follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.

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