Wednesday 3 October 2012

A Character I admire-Ernie Els

Role models are people who in this lifetime have played a significant role in each of our lives. Some people may have many, others few. Mine though, is Ernie Els. As artificial as admiring a sportsperson may seem, there is more to Ernie than just his excellence in golf.

Image By: _HarryLime_
First of all, I admire the fact that Ernie is an extremely irrepressible character. 
For the past few years, Ernie has been battling through an extremely hard time in his life. He hasn't won a single tournament and he has still had to shuttle between South Africa and Florida to treat his son's autism. As he consistently placed in only the top 28, Els failed to find his old form. Day after day, week after week though, Els still went out on the range to practice. He still went through the strenuous and arduous schedule that athletes must go through. Working as hard as he could to have a resurgence in form. Finally,After 6 years of determination and resilience Els finally won his 4th major tournament this year. The British Open. 

          Another thing I admire about Els is that he is sincere and has a high mark of sportsmanship. This was shown through his recent win at the British Open, for the tournament started out on the wrong note for Ernie as he lay mid table in the final round. Then in a dramatic change of tide, and another brilliant display of his resilience, Els carded 6 straight birdies on the last six holes. The leader at the time(Adam Scott) bogeyed his last 5 holes to lose by one stroke to Ernie. Of course an extremely disappointing time for Adam Scott, any winner in that circumstance would have overdone his sympathy for Adam, making it insincere.  That's why Ernie was not only remembered for a 4th major win though. For in his victory speech, he was sincere in his feelings towards Adam Scott. He didn't overdo it, nor did he make Adam feel insignificant by not mentioning him at all. He showed the mark of a true gentleman. Sincere, and a graceful winner.

         Lastly, I admire Ernie's commitment to be concerned about people who aren't as fortunate as him. This can definitely be seen through his foundation. Els uses his foundation to identify underprivileged youths and introduce them to the game of golf. As well as providing financial and moral help, Ernie uses his foundation to educate underprivileged individuals. Els has also provided support towards autism after his sons diagnosis in 2009. He hosts a tournament called the Els for autism Pro-Am, which raised 725,000 dollars for a non-profit school which teaches the autistic. His concern, commitment as well as his awareness towards those less fortunate are comparable to that of an enthusiastic UWC student, if not more.

An excellent representative of the 4 UWC profiles, Ernie should be a role model for everyone.


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