Rozner: Ernie Els so much more than punchline

Long before the leaders put peg in ground Saturday afternoon at Augusta National, Ernie Els was already gone, having left the Masters Friday night to spend the weekend inside his own home - and inside his own head.

This is what happens when you take a 9 on the first hole of a tournament.

By Thursday night, his first green adventures were a viral nightmare, a late-night punchline, a duffer's paradise of comps.

Funny.

Els might be the second-best player of the Tiger Woods era, possessing two U.S. Opens, two Open Championships and been runner-up six times in the majors. He's won 19 times on the PGA Tour, 28 on the European Tour and 68 worldwide as a professional.

He's a top 20 player all time and would certainly be top 10 if not for having played when Woods was in his prime, finishing second to Woods more than any other player over the last 20 years. Els was the No. 1-ranked player in the world three times during the first couple years Woods was on tour.

He's known as "The Big Easy," for the smoothest and sweetest swing that generates power and touch, but always with an effortless arc.

And he is known for his class and etiquette. After defeating Adam Scott in the 2012 Open Championship, Els spoke more about how bad he felt for Scott, who crumbled down the stretch, than about his own victory.

Typical Ernie.

In 2011, the South African was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, a tribute not just to his game, but to his tireless efforts to raise money for charity.

Major winners Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel are graduates of the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation, which helps identify and develop young talent in South Africa.

And since his young son was diagnosed with autism a few years ago, Els has devoted much of his time and energy - and millions of his own money - to building the Els Center for Excellence, what he hopes will be a model for the world of what should be available to autistic children.

The center "will launch a global digital learning platform that will make the best practices in education and therapy available to thousands of children around the world on the autism spectrum."

The center will have education available for ages 3 to 21, professional and medical services, and research and transition to adulthood. It's a $30 million plan - funded by Els and his wife and charity tournaments - and includes the center and millions more for research.

There's much to admire about Ernie Els, but now he is an international joke, having made 6 putts from three feet for a record-worst 9 on the first hole of the Masters on Thursday.

Concerned that his Masters exemption was nearly over, and that the switch from anchored putter has been difficult, Els has struggled with short putts as of late and in this case his tournament was over after 10 minutes.

But he did not walk off the course and quit. He kept playing and after being 5-over par following a single hole he finished Round 1 only 8-over par in brutally windy conditions, missing three more short putts on the day.

Els also did not avoid the media. While some players were so mad about the windy playing conditions Thursday that they wouldn't speak to anyone, Els stood and answered every question, naked and afraid and unable to explain anything that had occurred.

It was painful to watch. It was moving. It was admirable.

"It's what happens when you have the heebie-jeebies," Els said with a shake of the head and disarming chuckle. "I can't explain it. If you haven't felt it, you wouldn't know what I'm talking about.

"I don't know. You have to play. You have to keep going. People would walk off. Bobby Jones famously left the golf course at St. Andrews, as the story goes.

"You're out of the tournament. It's very difficult. You have a three-footer for par and walk off with a 9. What do you do? You work at the game and then you get a funny feeling and then you can't take the putter back.

"How do I fix it? Give me a brain transplant," Els said with a warm grin. "You tell me. I don't know. I had a guy I was working with and felt good going in and then you can't take the putter back and you look like a fool.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do."

He could have pulled the chute and feigned injury, as many have done before him, but he played Friday and shot a 1-over 73, better than leader Jordan Spieth and most of the field, still missing some short putts.

And then Els went home.

The 46-year-old may never recover from what occurred Thursday. It happens to players late in their careers as they feel the pressure of waning opportunities and expiring exemptions.

Els is one of the greatest players of all time, yet he will now be remembered as that guy who needed 6 putts from three feet.

It's unfair the way some athletes are remembered, but they don't get to decide, especially in an era in which a 30-second video can be seen by 30 million in 30 minutes.

But this isn't just some journeyman who blew up on 18 with a chance to win once and then disappeared forever. This man has won, he has won big and he has won with class and dignity, operating off the course in precisely the same way.

Ernie Els deserves so much more than life as a punchline.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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