Player Feature 04 January 2023 Share article / Ernie Els at The Open Few players in recent history have a better record at The Open than Ernie Els.The popular South African boasts two wins, three runner-up finishes and two placings of third among his nine top-five finishes at golf’s original Championship.He had already contended for the Claret Jug on numerous occasions, most notably when finishing second in 1996 and 2000, by the time he secured his first Open victory in the most dramatic fashion at Muirfield in 2002.After a shaky finish to his final round, long-time leader Els found himself in a four-man play-off – the first in Open history – with Thomas Levet, Stuart Appleby and Steve Elkington. Els and Levet still could not be separated after the scheduled four holes, but it was ‘The Big Easy’ who ultimately prevailed in sudden death.Els remained a regular fixture on Open leaderboards in the years that followed, losing a play-off to Todd Hamilton two years later before finishing thir...
