Tiger Woods British Open: What Ernie Els’ Win Means for Tiger’s Major Hopes

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 24, 2012

commentComment        

Make no mistake about it: Tiger Woods' fall from grace on and off the course has been unmatched in the history of golf, and, in some circles, sports in general. But if the British Open's finale taught us anything, it's that you can never count any golfer out.

Ernie Els, this year's winner of the British Open, hadn't been heard from in a big way for a very long time. Before winning at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012, it had been a decade since Els had won a major. It seemed that the South African would eventually just fade out of the consciousness of golf fans altogether without so much as a whimper.

Such an end to his career would have been unthinkable for the golfer who turned pro in 1989. Shortly after that, Els began winning tournaments regularly. At age 24, he captured his first major, the U.S. Open. Three years later, Els would capture his second major, also the U.S. Open.

His third and final major win before his victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012 was at the 2002 British Open. It had been a 10-year drought for Els, but all signs pointed to the South African making his way back to the top of the golf world.

Then came the worst drought of his career, the decade-long one mentioned above. Missing cuts and poor finishes became the norm for Els, and in that 10-year span he only managed to win eight more PGA Tour events—none of which came between 2005 and 2007—effectively making him irrelevant in the sport.

But all his misery and failure was erased after his major victory in 2012. Just when you thought Els was finished and couldn't compete at a high level anymore, he goes and stuns the world with his win at the Open Championship.

Woods' situation is slightly different in the sense that expectations for him have always been higher than any golfer in the sport's history. His fall from grace has been far greater than that of Els, but Woods has...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!