The Big Easy's Revenge
Ernie Els deserves credit for Masters win of no-name Charl Schwartzel: Big Easyteaches what he can't do
Charl Schwartzel made all the shots at Augusta, but he never would been inposition without Ernie Els.
Ernie Els could never win a Masters himself.
Ernie Els never won the Masters despite having one of the sweetest, most natural swings in golf.
But he's getting his revenge on Augusta, on Tiger Woods (who thwarted him so many times in his prime), on Phil Mickelson (who memorably crushed his green jacket visions in 2004) and the entire world of golf. For Els has helped unleash a slew of no-name South Africans on the game who keep grabbing the most important trophies in golf.
Charl Schwartzel was just the latest, coming from nowhere to pull off one of the great finishes in Masters' history on Sunday: birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie ... Butler Cabin celebration.
Schwartzel stunned Adam Scott (who really should have won something, anything, long before now), Jason Day, Geoff Ogilvy and yes, Tiger too. And you can bet that no one is having a bigger laugh about the whole thing than Els.
The 41-year-old Els has said that the 26-year-old Schwartzel is "like a little brother" to him. Well, there little brother was Sunday winning the battle that big bro never could.
Something always seemed to get in Els' way. Whether it was his health, his love of jetting around the world for big-dollar fees while others focused more on range time than tarmac time or simply the fact that he was too well-adjusted and darn happy to flash a true killer's instinct, the Big Easy never won as many majors as he should have.
But remember the old saying: Those who can't do, teach. Well, Els personifies more than any other superstar in sports.
He started a school in South Africa that introduces youngsters to his game. Just as importantly, he stood up as the example, a living, breathing symbol for any burgeoning athletes in his country about what could be accomplished with a little white ball.
Tiger gets a ton of credit for the globalization of the game — and rightly so. But Els' contributions to golf's expansion are too often overlooked. All those Lear Jet miles that may have taken away from his own game? Well, they helped create plenty of golfers too.
And wouldn't you know ... suddenly there is South African Trevor Immelman winning the 2008 Masters, dealing no small blow to Tiger in the process. There is South African Louis Oosthuizen rolling to a runaway victory in last year's British Open. There is Charl on Sunday.
As revenge goes, it's pretty unique and diabolically sweet.
Ernie Els' days of winning majors are done. He doesn't have as many as he should. But he's sure making it harder for everyone else to add to their stash as well.
Schwartzel gets the trophy. But Els gets the last laugh.
