Yesterday morning I woke up excited knowing that I was going to watch the Open Championship. No one really knew what to expect. The potential headlines could have been numerous...Scott Runs Away with 1st Major, Tiger Snatches #15, G-Mac Keeps the Trophy in Northern Ireland...but the one that actually happened was far down the list. Secretly I was pulling for Ernie who I had always respected as a player after he had an amazing year in 2000 when he finished 2nd in 3 majors (Tiger got in his way there!). He started off his round pretty slow but really caught fire on the back-nine. Around 12-13 I was thinking to myself Ernie has got a chance here if he can get to -8. He had some great chances including No.16 & 17 where he left his birdie putts pretty much dead center and SHORT! It was frustrating to watch as Ernie had been so close in other tournaments, but his putter had let him down. Going into 18 I was screaming at the TV (a bad habit of mine for all sports) hoping that he could make that last birdie and have an outside chance at a playoff. Well, he made that putt and years of agony with the short stick (now long stick) went flying away with the ball he threw into the stands.
Now Ernie had to play the waiting game. Adam Scott was falling fast, but he still had a chance on 17 and 18 to finish par-par and win his first major. It was not meant to be though as he found trouble around the green on 17 and then made a questionable decision on the tee of 18. As his par putt slide by the cup on the closing hole, I felt almost nothing although I had been going crazy 15 minutes earlier. Sometimes our feelings of joy can be erased by another person's sorrow. All golf fans felt terrible for Scott including Ernie himself.
During the press conference, Ernie spent almost the entire time talking about Scott and how bad he felt for him. The majority of it though were words of encouragement in an effort to build up the confidence of his friend. Ernie had just won the biggest tournament of his recent career and all he could think about was Scott. Talk about class!
Ernie Els is a better person than he is a golfer. He may have 4 career Majors but here are his greatest accomplishments in my opinion.
1) The legacy on the golf course Ernie Els will leave is not as a champion but as the trailblazer for the youth of South Africa. Many great golfers have come up through South Africa because of the money and recognition Els has put into the junior programs in his native country. Trevor Immelman and Louis Oosthuizen both major winners have come from his program in South Africa. Els is not the original trailblazer as that was Gary Player. This reminds me of a great quote from Sir Isaac Newton.
"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants"
Ernie realizes that he was the beneficiary of Gary Player's efforts and he wants to pass the torch onto the next generation of South African golfers.
2) If you haven't heard of it Els for Autism is a foundation that the Els's family has started to raise money for research and recognition of autism. 1 in 88 children have autism although many cases go undiagnosed. Going public with his son's (Ben) autism took great courage from his family. He deserves admiration for the courage of making such a private manner public, and also for his efforts to find solutions to autism which is a part of many peoples' lives.
I hope someday to be as gracious as Ernie Els and everyday he serves as a reminder to always be giving of your time and money to benefit the lives of others. Thank you Ernie and congratulations!
No comments:
Post a Comment