Ernie Els will join an elite group of players on Thursday when he tees off at the final Major of the Year, the PGA Championship, at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The ‘Big Easy’, along with Phil Mickelson, will be playing in his 100th Major, the pair becoming only the 13th and 14th players respectively to achieve the feat.
Els played his first Major in 1989, when he missed the cut at The Open Championship at the age of 19. He’s since gone on to win four Majors, the US Open in 1994 and 1997, and the Open Championship in 2002 and 2012.
While Mickelson holds the edge with five Majors to his name, Els won their first ever battle as teenagers when he won the Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego, beating the American for the title.
Els is the second South African to reach the milestone after Gary Player, who played in 150 Majors, putting him second behind Jack Nicklaus.
The 100 Majors Club:
- Jack Nicklaus – 164
- Gary Player – 150
- Tom Watson – 145
- Arnold Palmer – 142
- Raymond Floyd – 127
- Sam Snead – 119
- Ben Crenshaw – 118
- Gene Sarazen – 112
- Tom Kite – 109
- Mark O’Meara – 109
- Bernhard Langer – 104
- Sir Nick Faldo – 100
- Ernie Els – 100
- Phil Mickelson – 100
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