Winning golf championships is nothing new for the former World No.1 Ernie Els. But this weekend's win at WGC-CA championship must me very special for him and his fans. It was his first PGA title in two years and only the second in 5 1/2 years. Looking at the near flawless four rounds he played at Doral, one can say it's only the first of many this seoson. This win is more impressive since the World Championship event's field comprised of the best 68 players of the World.
But the most significant aspect of this win for me and many other fans is that this been his first win since Ernie went public about his Autistic son. Two years ago, soon after he won 2008 Honda Classic, Ernie Els and his wife decided to spoke out about their now seven year old son's Autism. Since then Ernie has been a passionate advocate about Autism Awareness. He displayed 'Autism Speaks' logo on his golf bag, encouraged PGA Tour for Autism fund raising, made promotional videos of awareness, created Els for Autism Foundation to donate various Autism related projects and envisioned Autism Center of Excellence - to provide combined education, therapy and research for autistic children. For a cause that lacked star power, he has become a great ambassador. It was a concern that his game didn't improve after breaking that long drought at 2008 Honda Classic. But if you look at the way he played this week at Doral, you can see the confidence in every aspect of his game. He was no match to anyone else in that golf course under difficult windy conditions. At 40 years of age, he doesn't have many years to fight it out with the best of the World. He has to take confidence from this win and continue to perform throughout the season. A win at Augusta (Masters Championship) next month would provide a perfect opportunity for him to promote Autism Awareness Month throughout the World. I wish him well.
"Should we keep it very private and deal with it, or as we've seen, there are so many families that are touched by it. And every time I speak to people, even Ben's school, you can see the pain and the frustration. And I thought if we come out, everybody thinks -- we do have great lives, but in a lot of ways we are very similar to everybody out there." - Ernie Els
“Not quite yet. But we’ll show him the video. He loves watching me practice at the Bears Club. He always comes out and gets on the range and watches me play. But we’ll show him the tape. I think he’ll be excited about it.” - Ernie Els, when asked whether his son understands how much this win means to his dad
I know that some golf fans are lacking interest in current PGA Tour events due to the absence of their favourite player. For the past decade and a half, Tiger Woods has been a sensation not only in golf but also in all of sports. It's no surprise that many have developed an interest in the sport just because of him. But golf is not a one man show; it's been there for centuries as a popular sport. I remember watching golf in pre-Tiger era when Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Greg Norman played. For some reason, this weeks WGC-CA championship at Doral reminded me those days. There was a truly international field present at this World Golf Championship event. This is where true champions of golf- chosen according to the World Golf Rankings- meet. With players coming from different tours worldwide, you could see different styles of play making it an interestingly competitive event.
It was the first high-calibre golf championship since Tiger's retirement, making it quite a different TV viewing experience. It is no secret that both NBC and CBS provide excessive screen time for Tiger Woods during their weekend golf telecasts to the point it's annoying to watch at times. Driven by the super-stardem of Tiger, TV cameras try to capture every move, guesture and emotion from the moment he steps into the golf course. Doesn't matter whether Tiger is on top of the leaderboard or just trying to make the cut, there are millions of Tiger fans wanting to capture every glimpse of him. This often results in blacking out shots of other players. It has been frustrating for the fans of Vijay Singh, Ernie Els or Mike Weir not to see them in action live on TV. With the absence of Tiger, this weekend's NBC telecast was different and most of shots of top 10 players (plus Mickelson) were shown live. Simply put, it was watchable. Ernie Els played wonderfully to win after a long drought bringing back memories of early ninties golf. It was a multi-colour leaderboard at the end with top 10 finishers coming from 8 different countries. Although the glamour of Tiger was missed, there was a higher sporting spirit at Doral during this weeks golf event.
Winning golf championships is nothing new for the former World No.1 Ernie Els. But this weekend's win at WGC-CA championship must me very special for him and his fans. It was his first PGA title in two years and only the second in 5 1/2 years. Looking at the near flawless four rounds he played at Doral, one can say it's only the first of many this seoson. This win is more impressive since the World Championship event's field comprised of the best 68 players of the World. 
But the most significant aspect of this win for me and many other fans is that this been his first win since Ernie went public about his Autistic son. Two years ago, soon after he won 2008 Honda Classic, Ernie Els and his wife decided to spoke out about their now seven year old son's Autism. Since then Ernie has been a passionate advocate about Autism Awareness. He displayed 'Autism Speaks' logo on his golf bag, encouraged PGA Tour for Autism fund raising, made promotional videos of awareness, created Els for Autism Foundation to donate various Autism related projects and envisioned Autism Center of Excellence - to provide combined education, therapy and research for autistic children. For a cause that lacked star power, he has become a great ambassador. It was a concern that his game didn't improve after breaking that long drought at 2008 Honda Classic. But if you look at the way he played this week at Doral, you can see the confidence in every aspect of his game. He was no match to anyone else in that golf course under difficult windy conditions. At 40 years of age, he doesn't have many years to fight it out with the best of the World. He has to take confidence from this win and continue to perform throughout the season. A win at Augusta (Masters Championship) next month would provide a perfect opportunity for him to promote Autism Awareness Month throughout the World. I wish him well."Should we keep it very private and deal with it, or as we've seen, there are so many families that are touched by it. And every time I speak to people, even Ben's school, you can see the pain and the frustration. And I thought if we come out, everybody thinks -- we do have great lives, but in a lot of ways we are very similar to everybody out there." - Ernie Els
“Not quite yet. But we’ll show him the video. He loves watching me practice at the Bears Club. He always comes out and gets on the range and watches me play. But we’ll show him the tape. I think he’ll be excited about it.” - Ernie Els, when asked whether his son understands how much this win means to his dad
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