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
The Bollywood movie "My Name is Khan" premiers today. Why I want to write about an Indian movie? I haven't seen the movie, don't know what the story is or how good it is. But I heard that the movie is about a person with Asperger's Syndrome - a mild form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I have a son with Autism. So, I am closely associated with Autism community. One of the major obstacles persons with ASD and their parents face is the lack of knowledge about it among general public. I didn't know anything about Autism until my son was diagnosed about a year ago. So I'm not blaming anyone. There are so many health conditions, physical/mental disorders, diseases around that we won't know much about until we come across an affected person. Movies have been one of the major means of raising awareness about various subjects. Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man is regarded by many as Autistic. It increased Autism awareness. But we know that most autistic people are not Savants (having extraordinary abilities) like the Rain Man. So, in a way Rain Man created misconception about the abilities (or the disability) of Autistic people. Hollywood has failed to produce a major movie to help increase true awareness of ASD, despite the fact that research has shown ASD is growing in epidemic proportions and affecting every 1 in 100 or more children and still remains a mysterious syndrome with no clear cause or cure established.
This is why I am so excited to hear about 'My Name is Khan'. The star of the movie is Shahrukh Khan - the most popular Bollywood actor. With his presence and having Fox on board for distribution, I hope this movie will become popular among Bollywood fans around the World. Though Asperger doesn't indicate the true hardships of having Autism, it will at least open the eyes of people and increase the general awareness of ASD. My gratitude to the writer, director, producers and everyone else who contributed to make this movie. Please go see it.
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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