Ernie+Els

Theodore Ernest (Ernie) Els is a very popular South African professional golfer. He was born in 1969, and has one brother, Dirk. At age 45 Ernie was inducted into the Golfing Hall of Fame, and has twelve major career victories. He owns estates in England, South Africa, and the U.S. To get better treatment for his autistic son, him and his family split time between all their homesteads. Other than his golfing career, he has made a foundation that supports unprivileged children extend their knowledge in golf, and establishing his own wine making business.

Els earned the nickname "Big Easy" for his very smooth effortless swing with a club. Ernie Els competed in many professional competitions. His PGA (Professional Golfers Association) Tour victorys include, U.S. Open (1994), GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic (1995), Buick Classic (1996), U.S. Open (1997), Buick Classic (1997), Bay Hill Invitational (1998), Nissan Open (1999), The International (2000), Genuity Championship (2002), British Open (2002), Mercedes Championship (2003), Sony Open Hawaii (2003), Sony Open Hawaii (2004), The Memorial (2004), WGC American Express Championship (2004), The Honda Classic (2008), The WGC CA Championship (2010), Arnold Palmer Invitational (2010), and the British Open in 2012. Although Els underwent Reconstruction surgery on his knee, he still won competitions after that. In his free time he manages a wine company, and a autism awareness foundation. His foundation is called "Els for Autism." He created it when his son was diagnosed with autism. His goal is to create a "Center of Excellence" to help all kids ranging on the autistic scale.

Ernie is doing something that will help a lot of kids diagnosed with autism, he is building his Center of Excellence in Jupiter, Florida. Although it is not in his home country, this is a big step in helping autistic children, not just children in the U.S., but children all over the world, giving the children's parents hope for the future.