Ernie Els Names 4 Golfers He HATES

#golfer #golfswing #golf #pga #golflife #golfing # #LIVGolf #PGATour #GolfDrama #ernieels

F*CK THEM. Those were the words that seemed to echo through Ernie Els’ mind throughout a career defined not just by his smooth swing, but by bitter rivalries, crushing defeats, and moments of shocking violence that completely shatter the image of ‘The Big Easy.’ Today, we’re diving deep into the four relationships that defined and damaged one of golf’s greatest careers. And trust me, you won’t believe what really happened on that private jet.

just like, “Yes, yes. I’m so happy.” It was like a child. We were like two children like like fighting. So, we started wrestling and tussling around. I was on his back. He’s shaking me around and the pilots come back and yell at us. He he beat me a lot more often than I wanted to to get my hands on him. them. Those were the words that seemed to echo through Ernie L’s mind throughout a career defined not just by his smooth swing, but by bitter rivalries, crushing defeats, and moments of shocking violence that completely shattered the image of the Big Easy. Today, we’re diving deep into the four relationships that defined and damaged one of golf’s greatest careers. And trust me, you won’t believe what really happened on that private jet. Before we get into the chaos, let me paint you a picture. Ernie L’s stands 6′ 3 in tall with one of the most beautiful golf swings anyone has ever seen. His nickname, the Big Easy, suggested a man who glided through life and competition with effortless grace. Four major championships, 80 professional victories, World Golf Hall of Fame. The resume screams greatness. But behind that carefully constructed mask of the gentleman ambassador, lived a deeply frustrated, sometimes volatile competitor whose biggest moments were defined by the people who beat him, embarrassed him, and pushed him to his breaking point. Contradictions run deep. Here was a player who won the US Open twice. In 1994 at Oakmont and 1997 at Congressional. He captured the Open Championship twice in 2002 at Mirfield and 2012 at Royal Leam in St. Ans. That puts him in an exclusive group of just six golfers to have won both the US Open and the Open Championship twice. He represented South Africa 22 times in international competition, including eight President’s Cups. He won the Alfred Dunhill Cup in 1997 and 1998. He claimed World Cup titles in 1996 and 2001. The man was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in May 2011 on his first time on the ballot. By any objective measure, Ernie L should be remembered as nothing less than a champion. But golf history is written by the winners of the biggest moments. And L’s peak years coincided exactly with the most dominant stretch any golfer has ever had. That timing would define everything. It would turn triumph into frustration, excellence into inadequacy, and the smooth big easy into something far more complicated, and far more human. Let’s start with the most shocking story, the one that proves the big easy was always a lie. years ago on a private jet flying back from Japan to Palm Beach, something snapped. Ernie Ell’s and fellow tour pro Steve Marino got into what reports described as a drunken wrestling match. But wrestling match doesn’t quite capture it. We’re talking about a full-blown midair brawl at 30,000 ft. The details that leaked out were brutal, forceful headbutt, Steve Marino losing a tooth. This wasn’t some friendly guys being guys moment. This was violence. Now, here’s where it gets interesting. When Ellis was finally confronted about this incident years later on a podcast, he did what any image conscious athlete would do. He completely sanitized the story. Listened to how he described it. It was just myself and Stevie coming from Japan to Palm Beach. We had a lot to drink. There was a lot to talk about and we kind of hugged each other. It was a love fest on the airplane. Nobody got seriously injured. It was all in good fun. It’s just what guys do and there’s a lot of testosterone running. A love fest. That’s what he called an altercation where a man lost a tooth. Think about that for a second. The gentlemanly global ambassador, the smooth operator, the guy who was supposed to represent golf’s best qualities, was downplaying a violent assault as boys being boys. Why? Because at the exact same time, L’s was building his philanthropic empire with L’s for autism. A public perception of being violent and out of control would have destroyed the credibility and fundraising capacity of those efforts. So, the mask stayed on, the narrative got sanitized, and the Big Easy survived another day. But if you thought the Marino incident was the only crack in that smooth facade, buckle up because nothing, and I mean nothing, damaged Ernie Ell’s more than his relationship with Tiger Woods. Before we go deeper into this rivalry that defined an era, do me a favor. Hit that subscribe button right now and drop a comment below telling me which golfer you think truly broke Elsa’s spirit. Was it Tiger, Phil, VJ, or did he break himself? I want to hear your thoughts. The Tiger Woods situation wasn’t just a rivalry. It was systematic competitive destruction. The stats tell a brutal story. L’s along with VJ Singh holds the record for the most second place finishes when Tiger won a PGA Tour event five times, five separate occasions where L’s was good enough to beat everyone on the planet except the one guy who mattered. He wasn’t just losing, he was being denied. But the year 2000 was different. That was the year Tiger didn’t just beat Ernie L’s. He humiliated him on the biggest stages in golf. At the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach, L’s finished runner up. Sounds respectable, right? Wrong. He finished 15 strokes behind Woods. 15. Tiger shot 12 underpar. L’s finished at three overpar. This wasn’t a competition. It was a public execution. Woods shattered the record for largest margin of victory in a major championship. He didn’t just win. He made everyone else look like they belonged on a municipal course. And L’s he completely broke. Listen to what he said after that round. Really hear the defeat in these words. If you put old Tom Morris with Tiger Woods, he’d probably beat him by 80 shots right now. Hey, the guy is unbelievable, man. I’m running out of words. Give me a break. That’s not respect. That’s surrender. That’s a man who realized he could be the second best player in the world and it wouldn’t matter one bit. But Tiger wasn’t done with him. Just months later at the 2000 Open Championship, Els found himself runner up again, finishing eight strokes behind Woods, two majors in one year, both times getting absolutely demolished. This became the pattern of Elsa’s career. He was consistently one of the best players in the world. But his greatest achievements would always be viewed through the lens of the majors. Tiger prevented him from winning. The psychological toll of this cannot be overstated. Imagine being that good. Imagine working your entire life to perfect a craft. Building a swing that people call one of the most beautiful ever created. Competing at the highest level and still getting beaten by margins that make you look like an amateur. That kind of competitive destruction doesn’t just affect your performance, it affects your identity, it makes you question everything. Now L’s and Woods maintained what looked like mutual respect publicly for years. But in February 2010, that mask slipped again. Tiger was dealing with the fallout from his infidelity scandal and announced he would make his first public statement on a Friday during the WGC Accenture Matchplay Championship. L’s, usually described as famously laid-back, went public with his criticism, calling Tigers timing selfish. He argued that Mondays were appropriate for such statements and that choosing a Friday detracted from the biggest golfing event of the year. On the surface, this looked like L’s defending the game. But let’s be honest about what this really was. This was a guy who had been subordinate to Woods his entire career, finally getting a chance to land a public shot when his rival was vulnerable. L’s mentioned feeling bad for the tournament sponsor Accenture, which had just dropped Woods. But the subtext was clear. After a decade of being runner up, after the psychological warfare of those 15 stroke defeats, El’s finally had permission to criticize, and he took it. Even their final chapter together was painful for L’s. At the 2019 President’s Cup in Australia, El served as international team captain, while Woods was the playing captain for the US team. El’s actually did a great job. His team had a two-point advantage heading into Sunday singles, but Woods and the Americans rallied for a 16 to4 victory, marking the eighth straight American win. For L’s, this was the final loss in a lifetime of losses to Tiger. Even from the captain’s cart, he couldn’t escape the shadow. But Tiger wasn’t the only one who crushed L’s when it mattered most. Phil Mickelson made sure of that. The L’s Mickelson relationship goes way back. They first played against each other in 1984 at the Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego. L’s the South African beat the local favorite Mikkelson to win the title. Phil remembered a specific moment from that day. A highly skilled skipping spinning wedge shot L’s hit. He knew immediately the kid from South Africa was going to be special and L’s looking back years later marveled at the longevity. I would never have thought that we’d be playing, you know, basically for life 100th major. Now, both men eventually became the 13th and 14th players to reach 100 major starts. But while their rivalry was more balanced than the Tiger beatdown, it still featured one of the most painful moments in Elsa’s career. The 2004 Masters final round was one for the history books. Augusta National witnessed what everyone described as an electrifying back n battle featuring a flurry of birdies and eagles between two of the games best. It came down to the 72nd hole. Mickelson playing in his 47th major and desperately seeking his first major victory, sank a dramatic birdie putt to win by a single stroke over L’s. For Phil, it was validation, his breakthrough. For L’s, it was another agonizing major runner-up finish. He had also finished second at the Masters in 2000. So close, so many times. Always the bridesmaid. The Mickelson loss at least came down to one shot between equals, but L’s relationship with VJ Singh revealed something else. A fundamental flaw in how else approached his career. Singh was part of the big five along with Woods, Mikkelson, and L’s. But Sing and L’s had very different philosophies. Els was viewed as the naturally gifted athlete with the smooth, intuitive game, the big easy. Sing, on the other hand, built his career on relentless dedication and hard work. He basically gave his life over to the game. Here’s where it gets brutal for L’s. Some observers suggested that while El’s had all the natural talent in the world, he seemed to shrink from the immense pressure that Woods presented. Sing and Mickelson, meanwhile, refused to concede defeat mentally. They kept grinding, kept maximizing their potential even when Tiger was at his peak. And the numbers back this up. L’s consciously pursued a global schedule, racking up 28 victories on the European tour, seventh all time alongside his 19 PGA Tour wins. Sounds impressive, right? But here’s the problem. While L’s was jet setting around the world, building his reputation as a multi-continental champion, Singh was laser focused on the PGA Tour. And that focused approach allowed Singh to build what many consider a better PGA Tour career, including a spectacular 2004 season that experts rate as the best non-tiger season in 30 years. Ella’s global strategy diluted his competitive edge in America. The constant travel, the split focus, the inability to commit fully to dominating the PGA Tour during its most competitive era. It all contributed to the perception that L’s was prone to giving up tournaments or appearing shaky during intense competition. His commitment to being a global golf ambassador came at the direct cost of maximizing his PGA Tour dominance. And this brings us to the fourth conflict, the one with the PGA Tour itself. In late 2004, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finham sent what was described as a firm letter to L’s, who was world number two at the time. The message, play more events in the United States. The tour pointed out that while L’s had satisfied the minimum requirement of 15 starts to keep his card, he should be playing over 20 events domestically and he would need to earn releases for international tournaments by adding extra US events to his schedule. Elsa’s response was defiant and very public. He said he was not overly delighted by the communication. He was adamant he wouldn’t change his globe trotting schedule. Why should I? You can’t start telling me, “Hey, come over here to America and leave the rest of the world. It’s not going to happen that way.” Now, else framed this as defending the global nature of golf. He argued his participation abroad helped elevate the European tour in other circuits. I’m helping their tour. I’m helping the European tour and all the other tours, too, because I play all around the world. And sure, that sounds noble, but let’s look at what this really was. This was a top player refusing to prioritize the tour that made him wealthy and famous. This was someone choosing his self-image as a global spokesman over the practical reality that the PGA Tour was where the biggest competition and biggest money existed. The tour wanted its star to commit. L said no. He positioned himself as some kind of anti-hgemonic figure fighting American golf dominance. But really, he was just protecting a schedule that let him avoid the week in weekout grind that Singh embraced and that might have actually led to more major championships. The tour eventually backed down. Finham publicly confirmed in November 2004 that he saw nothing wrong with the amount of tournaments L’s played overseas. L’s won the political battle, but did it help his legacy? Singh has a better PGA tour career. Tiger has 15 majors, Phil got his six, and L’s has four, with a reputation for being naturally talented, but maybe not hungry enough when it truly mattered. But here’s the thing about Ernie L’s. After all the conflicts, the humiliating defeats, the controversies, the physical altercations, and the political standoffs, something changed. In 2009, El and his wife Leisel along with Marvin R. Shanken founded for Autism after their son Ben was diagnosed. This wasn’t a vanity project. This became’s life’s work. The foundation’s mission is to transform the lives of people with autism and those who care for them through lifetime services and collaborative partnerships. L’s for Autism offers evidence-based programs covering the entire lifespan, early intervention and educational services, recreation services, adult services. The foundation’s flagship fundraising event, the L’s for Autism Golf Challenge, has become one of the largest charity-driven amateur golf tournaments in North America with regional events across the US and Canada. Since it started in 2011, the Golf Challenge has raised over $40.8 million. L’s also founded the Ernie Els Foundation in South Africa back in 1999, focusing on educational assistance and golfing opportunities for young people from families with limited resources. He’s mentored champions like Louisisen. He runs Ernie L’s Wines. He designs golf courses. All of it supports a broad charitable footprint. This is the redemptive narrative. After years defined by the relentless pressure of chasing Tiger, the painful near misses against Phil, the questions about his commitment compared to Singh, and the political battles with tour leadership, else found something bigger. The philanthropy work, especially else for autism gives his life a purpose that stands completely independent of those four major championships. It helps the public forget about the Steve Marino incident. It makes the big easy persona feel real again. Ernie Elsa’s legacy is complicated. He was an exceptional talent who operated during the most dominant era in golf history. Four majors confirm his place among the greats, but the competitive narrative will always be shaped by being Tiger’s most consistent victim, those record-breaking defeats, those five runner-up finishes, the public surrender at Pebble Beach, the painful loss to Phil at Augusta, the divided focus that maybe cost him more titles, the physical altercation that revealed the volatility underneath a smooth exterior. But maybe, just maybe, the charitable work represents his greatest victory. Not against Tiger or Phil or VJ or the PGA Tour, but against the demons of competitive failure. He took his global platform and transformed it into genuine social good. Over $40 million raised, thousands of families helped. A son honored, a legacy completed. So yes, there were four relationships that defined and damaged Ernie L’s career. Tiger Woods, who systematically destroyed him, Phil Mickelson, who beat him when it mattered most. VJ Singh, who showed what total commitment looked like, and the PGA tour, which wanted more than he was willing to give. But maybe the fifth relationship, the one with his son and the autism community, is the one that actually saved him. If this deep dive into the complicated, controversial career of the Big Easy opened your eyes to the real Ernie L’s, smash that like button and share this video. And let me know in the comments, do you think L’s philanthropic work redeems the controversies or does it just cover them up? I’ll see you in the next one.