When news of Ernie Els’s knee injury in 2005 reached the world’s best golfers, Fiji’s Vijay Singh said: ”It’s sad that it happened … The team will miss him more than he’s going to miss the team.”
How apt. For since the injury during a sailing holiday in the Mediterranean, and even after his return, the world has missed Els. In fact, the world has missed good performances by South Africans on the tour.
Then ranked number three in the world, Els was expected to be out for at least six months, but after four months the Big Easy defied doctors to return to the sport he loves.
In December that year, Els marked his second event back on tour with victory in the Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.
A week earlier he had finished an impressive ninth at the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City.
It was not so long ago that South Africans were sure that their top golfers were about to dominate the world stage.
Although this was wishful — considering that Tiger Woods had a two-season cushion at the top, and world numbers two and three, Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson respectively, were putting up a good fight to retain their rankings — South Africa had a handful of good golfers who could take on the world’s best.
But it seems South African golf went sailing the day Els suffered the injury.
At the time of the injury, Els and Retief Goosen were in the top five, with Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini making their way up the rankings and other young players such as Charl Shwartzel, Richard Sterne and Anton Haig also registering good positions on the leaderboards.
Currently, Els and Goosen are in the top 10 — numbers five and nine respectively. Only five South Africans are in the top 50 and seven are in the top 100. Australia has six players in the top 50, England has five and Sweden has four.
At the beginning of last season, Els was quoted as saying: ”I am looking forward to this new season maybe more than any other since I turned pro. That lay-off through injury meant I could get some things straight in my head and evaluate some of my goals.
”Mentally and physically I feel good. Having recovered from such a bad injury, it almost seems that 2006 is going to be the start of the second half of my professional career. I’m ready.”
But, with the exception of his fine performances at the Dunhill and Sun City challenges and some near misses on the European tour, Els has begun a slow slide down the rankings.
It is, however, not all doom and gloom for South Africa. Els and Goosen may be on a downward spiral, but our younger players are putting up a fight and, with time, South Africa should be contending for the top spots.
After twice finishing runner-up on the circuit, Immelman recorded a memorable victory — his first on the United States tour — last year at the Cialis Western Open in Illinois, sinking a 33-foot putt to upset world number one Woods. South Africa collectively agreed Immelman was the next Els or Gary Player. Not much has happened since.
When Sabbatini clinched the Nissan open to register his fourth win on the tour, another chapter of hope opened for South Africa. The outspoken Sabbatini went on to lose on the final day to Woods at the Wachovia Open two weeks ago, yet again showing signs of hunger to fight.
Schwartzel, all of his 22 years, captured his second European Tour victory two weeks ago, winning the Spanish Open in Madrid. He moved up the money list, made his entry on to the world top 50 and, hopefully, began the journey to join the world’s best.