Ernie Els joins elite list

Ernie Els has had a renaissance while on the PGA Champions Tour and his most recent accolade sees the South African join elite company. Last season in 2024, the South African won three times on tour. This week he was voted 2024 Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America, along with PGA Tour and LPGA Tour stars, Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda.

Els joined the champions tour in 2020 after a long career on the PGA Tour. During the course of his career he won 19 times on tour. This included four major titles. He won the US Open in 1994 and 1997, and the Open Championship in 2002 and 2012.

He had not won on the PGA Tour since the 2012 Open Championship. The last time he won on the European Tour was in 2013. In 2016, at the Masters, he six-putted on the opening hole and recorded a nine. He would go on to miss the cut.

He has won six times since on the Champions Tour. This season, the three wins were the most in a season he's had on any tour since winning three times on the PGA Tour in 2004. He also had 10 top 10s throughout the course of the year.

Ernie Els won his first major on the Champions Tour in July

Ernie Els, who won the Kaulig Companies Championship in July, is the third player to receive Player of the Year by the writers on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. The other two are Tom Watson and Tom Lehman. Els turned pro in 1989 and spent over 30 years on the PGA Tour before joining the Champions Tour.

"Thank you for honoring me as your Player of the Year. I’ve always said the golf journalist know what you’re talking about. Seriously, though, thank you so much and have a great 2025. I’ll see you all out there this year!”, Els said after being named a Player of the Year.

The 55-year-old was one of the premiere players on the PGA Tour in the 1990s and 2000s. At the Genuity Championship in 2002, he bested Tiger Woods by two strokes to claim the tournament.

Els joining Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda who are dominating the PGA and LPGA Tours can only raise his profile as he enters 2025. He hasn't participated in a PGA Tour event since 2023. His 2025 performance could lead to more invites this season.

The first tournament on the Champions Tour is next week at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.