* – British Open – Ernie Els wins his third major and first British Open.

Els won his first professional tournament in 1991 on the Southern Africa Tour ( today the Sunshine Tour ).

In 1993 Els won his first tournament outside of South Africa at the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan.

In 1994 Els won his first major championship at the U. S. Open.

Els birdied the second hole of sudden death to win his first U. S. Open title.

1997 was a career year for Els first winning his second U. S. Open ( once again over Colin Montgomerie ) this time at Congressional Country Club, making him the first foreign player since Alex Smith ( 1906, 1910 ) to win the U. S. Open twice.

Els had a disappointing 2001 season, failing to win a US PGA tour event for the first time since 1994 although he ended the year with nine second place finishes.

Els overcame a four man playoff to take home the famed Claret Jug for the first time, also quieting his critics about his mental toughness.

2003 gave Els his first European Tour Order of Merit.

Els had a poor season in 2011, dropping out of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since 1993.

Els and Goosen could only manage pars on the first playoff hole, while Grace two-putted the par-five green for birdie and victory.

In 2012, Els failed to qualify for the Masters, the first time since 1993 that he would not play at Augusta.

In 1965, while singing in a radio show called Radioscope, host Salvador Escamilla helped him secure a record deal with local label Edigsa, where he recorded his first LP, as well as joining the group Els Setze Jutges.

At the last event of the year, Toms entered a four-man playoff at The Tour Championship where he, Sergio García and Ernie Els lost out on the first extra hole to Mike Weir.

* 2000: Tiger Woods becomes the first Memorial winner to successfully defend his title and finishes five shots ahead of Ernie Els.

The first small hotels arose in the area surrounding Els banys de la Reina and the Racó Beach, and catered to the emerging middle classes.

Ernie Els plays brilliantly given the conditions to record a 72, and wins after a 4-man playoff, the first in major championship history, involving Steve Elkington, Stuart Appleby and Frenchman Thomas Levet.

At the first WGC event of the year, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Donald in defence of his title he won in 2011, was eliminated in the opening round by South African Ernie Els who beat him 5 & 4.

Nine of the first fourteen editions were won by players who have topped the Official World Golf Rankings at some point in their career ( Faldo, Els and Woods twice each ; Woosnam, Norman and Couples once each ).

Zhang came to global attention at the 2003 Caltex Singapore Masters, where he edged out Ernie Els with a birdie on the final hole to become the first Chinese golfer to win on the European Tour.

Winning all three titles in the same season is a feat only achieved by Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Ernie Els.

1984 was a vintage year, with David Toms winning the 15 – 17 event, Ernest " Ernie " Els the 13 – 14s ( with Mickelson finishing second ), and Eldrick " Tiger " Woods the 9 – 10s ( despite still being age 8 ).

Els showed amazing consistency in the Majors but lost to Phil Mickelson in the Masters when Mickelson birdied the 18th for the title, finished ninth in the U. S. Open after playing in the final group with friend and fellow countryman Retief Goosen and surprisingly losing in a playoff in the Open to the then unknown Todd Hamilton.

He remained the leader in career earnings on the European Tour until 2010, when he was surpassed by Ernie Els.

Barcelona May Days ( Els Fets de Maig in Catalan, Los Hechos de Mayo or " May Events " in Spanish ) were a period of civil violence in Catalonia, between May 3 and May 8, 1937, when factions on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War engaged each other in street battles in the city of Barcelona.

Muirfield has hosted The Open Championship fifteen times, most recently in 2002 when Ernie Els lifted the trophy.

The current champion is Ernie Els who won in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire.

Els won the South African Amateur Championship a few months after his 17th birthday, becoming the youngest-ever winner of that event, breaking the record which had been held by Gary Player.

In 1989 Els won the South African Amateur Stroke Play Championship and turned professional the same year.

The following year, Els defended his World Match Play Championship, defeating Steve Elkington three-and-one, won the Byron Nelson Classic in the United States then headed back home to South Africa and won twice more.

In 1996 Els won his third straight World Match Play Championship over Vijay Singh three-and-one.

Els nearly won the World Match Play Championship for a fourth consecutive year, but lost to Vijay Singh in the final.

Although playing fewer events than his competitors Els won four times and had three runner ups.

To top off the season Els won the World Match Play title for a record tying fifth time.

2004 was another successful year as Els won 6 times on both tours including big wins at Memorial, WGC-American Express Championship and his sixth World Match Play Championship, a new record.

Despite missing several months of the 2005 season due to the injury, Els won the second event on his return, the Dunhill Championship.

On 2 March 2008, Els won the Honda Classic contested at PGA National's Championship Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Els then won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill two weeks later.

In December 2010, Els won the South African Open beating Retief Goosen by one shot.

Els won the 2012 Open Championship, making a birdie on the last hole.

Els has now won major tournaments in three different decades, joining his countryman Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper and other all-time greats.

Ernie Els has had the most success, having won the Desert Classic on three occasions.

:* April-The Masters Tournament-Vijay Singh won his second major title in six events, playing steady golf to hold off the challenges of Ernie Els and David Duval.

Her biggest achievement came during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney where she won the bronze medal in doubles, partnering Els Callens.