Charl Shwartzel moved a country and instantly became a household name by winning the 2011 Masters championship yesterday.
I was watching and unfortunately went to sleep about an hour before the final stroke. Shwartzel birdied the final four holes to crack in an amazing -14 to win the title.
Eight different players took the lead on Sunday at the Masters.
Here’s a quick little quote from a well written story over at ESPN:
Never before has the green jacket gone to a player who finished in such fashion, a stunning end to an incredible day at the 75th playing of the year’s first major championship.
The quiet, unassuming Schwartzel, 26, knocked in a chip shot for a birdie at the first, holed a wedge shot for an eagle at the third, then played steady golf through a pulsating day that then saw him roar to the end with birdies at the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes and a final-round 66.
In the process, the South African passed the likes of Tiger Woods and Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day on the leaderboard, and was the unlikely winner of a major championship he was playing for just the second time.
“As always, it happens on the back nine on Sunday, just like you dreamt it,” said Schwartzel’s caddie, Greg Hearmon.
There is a great video on the ESPN story if you missed the event.
Apparently Shwartzel is the second Els Foundation graduate to win a major tournament in the last 3 major tournaments played.
Fantastic news for the “Big Easy” as Ernie is called. The man is a giant, larger than life and one helluva golfer. Not only is his golf on par (weak pun, but intended), but Ernie is also a philanthropist who does his best to help his community and those less fortunate than himself.
I’m proud to call Ernie a South African and proud of his achievement.
Congratulations Ernie.
Here’s a little snippet from Reuters:
Three-times major winner and former world number one Ernie Els has been voted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2011.
The 40-year-old, whose selection in the Hall of Fame’s PGA Tour category was announced on Wednesday, will be inducted on May 9 at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida.
“It was quite a surprise,” South African Els told reporters with a broad smile at East Lake Golf Club. “I thought you had to be a little bit more senior.
“You’d like to think you could have done more and can still do more, but obviously I’m very, very honored to be inducted.”
Mr Clark walked away with the Players Championship yesterday. What a boy. I can’t tell you how chuffed I am for him. There are a lot of shadows that can fall on South African golfers these days (The Goose and The Big Easy to name but two). And Tim Clark has finally stepped out of the shadows of his compatriots, although it’s not to say that he never made it as a pro, the man is brilliant at his game.
For a while now Clark has been marked as the best player to never have won on the PGA Tour. No longer Tim, no longer. Welcome to greatness as it were.
I am personally incredibly happy that Tim defeated most of the best golfers in the world to take this win. Phil Mickelson was nowhere and Tiger Woods pulled out with a neck injury or something to that effect.
Clark deserves this victory after apparently going 204 tournaments without a win.
For a much more detailed article on the events head over here.
He is most definitely my pick for the upcoming Masters tournament. Ernie has taken two wins this year and seems to be back on form. He is traveling less this year and practicing more. It’s about time the Big Easy took a bit of a slowdown and realised his true potential.
I watched much of his final round and he played out of his boots finally. He looks like he has his swing back and is playing with a quiet confidence that I haven’t seen in him in years. Welcome back Ernie.
Here’s Ernie’s shot of the day and short chat before his final round:
Oosthuizen took control of the Open de Andalucia de Golf in Malaga on Sunday and came away with a win.
A bit more info from southafrica.info:
Leaderboard
He posted rounds of 67, 63, 66, and 67 on the par-70 course for a 17-under-par total of 263.
Richard Finch of England and Scotsman Peter Whiteford shared second on 266 after closing with rounds of 67 and 66 respectively. Coles and Francesco Molinari tied for fourth on 268, followed by six players tied for sixth on 269.
ThomasAiken, the only other South African to make the cut, shared 36th place on three-under-par 277.
Tribute to Els
After his victory, Oosthuizen paid tribute to his mentor, Ernie Els, saying: “I would not be the golfer I am today without all the help I have received from Ernie.”
Oosthuizen became a member of the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation in the year of its inception, 1999. The Foundation’s mission is “To identify talented young South Africans from families of limited resources and provide them with educational assistance and playing opportunities in order to produce successful young leaders and golfers.”
With his win, Oosthuizen became the first Foundation member to win on the European Tour, making Els a happy man.
Els claims his first victory in two years and this after finishing a tied 67th place at the Honda Classic last week.
This shows the class of the man and the handle he has on his practical game and mental abilities.
From SuperSport:
“I found something just before dark and I couldn’t wait to get out here and try it. I kept working on it and basically by Thursday I started getting a bit of an idea,” he said.
He put the idea into practice and on Sunday the 40-year-old South African claimed his first tour win in two years in the WGC-CA Championship at Doral.
Els’s last victory, at the Honda two years ago, ended a four year barren spell for him at US tour events but while he talked up his chances then, this time he is striking a considered tone.
“I said a bit too much last time I won,” Els said after he beat compatriot Charl Schwartzel by four strokes on Sunday.
“I was a bit too cocky. I want to just enjoy this one. This took so much work to win.
“A lot of people have said that the older you get, the tougher it becomes to win and that’s very true.
“I’m 40 years old and it feels like in my twenties I had so many chances and I didn’t quite take them,” he said.
Great to see Charl Schwartzel coming together to win the almost R11m first prize.
Also – congratulations to a friend of mine, Thomas Aiken for placing second to start the year off as well as he ended 2009. Another South African placed 3rd: Jbe’ Kruger. That makes it an SA 1st/2nd/3rd finish. Lovely.
All in all a great and interesting weekend for sports.
Unfortunately the Springboks lost against Australia in the Tri-nations. But the South African tennis players did a sterling job at dismissing of Denmark in the Davis Cup. Kaizer Chiefs did a great job of holding Manchester United to a draw in Cape Town, which is always an impressive result for us. If our National team can’t do it, at least on a club level we are performing!
Then the British Open has been taking place over the past few days. I love golf and this open have been fortunate enough to watch a few South Africans in the championship. One of whom is a friend of mine!
Here’s how they look at the time of writing this post:
It’s true. Ernie won something. The first something in nearly four years, but a tournament win nonetheless.
This win surprisingly bumps him up to 3rd in the world behind Phil Mickelson and, of course, Tiger Woods.
Else finished 6 under for the tournament at the Honda Classic in Palm Beack to take the win ahead of Luke Donald and Nathan Green.
Els’ first victory in America for four years, incidentally, came on a tough PGA National course where strong winds meant the kind of skills needed to win an Open were just as handy as a track record of success in the US Open. Whatever the bookmakers say about Tiger clinching the Grand Slam this summer, if it’s breezy at Birkdale in July then the Big Easy, arguably the best wind player in the game, will mount a formidable obstacle in his path.
I played golf on Sunday (best round of my long golfing career – don’t ask) and the topic of discussion turned to Ernie. We were harsh, firm, supportive and questioning why he just couldn’t win. I suppose he hit a slump, blue funk or a bad patch. But it’s over and the Big Easy is back to making it look so easy.
It’s true. Ernie won something. The first something in nearly four years, but a tournament win nonetheless.