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One of the most popular and successful players of his generation, Ernie Els is set to make his 30th appearance in The Open at Royal St George’s in July.
The Big Easy has repeatedly shone at golf’s original Championship, recording seven top-three finishes highlighted by memorable victories in 2002 and 2012.
To mark his forthcoming milestone, we look at some of the most impressive statistics relating to Els’ illustrious career at The Open.
No player has broken 70 at The Open more frequently than Els, who achieved the feat for the 42nd time when he shot 69 in his second round at Royal Portrush in 2019.
The South African’s tally of 42 sub-70 rounds puts him five ahead of his nearest rival, Sir Nick Faldo. Jack Nicklaus takes third place on the list with 33, while five-time Champion Golfer Tom Watson has broken 70 on 30 occasions at The Open.
Els also is responsible for the most consecutive sub-70 rounds in the Championship, having managed seven successive scores in the 60s from the first round in 1993 through to the third round in 1994.
When he strung together rounds of 68, 69, 69 and 68 at Royal St George’s in 1993, he became the first player to break 70 in all four rounds at The Open and fail to win.
That feat has since been matched by Jesper Parnevik and Rickie Fowler, in 1994 and 2014 respectively, while Els did it for a second time in 2004 at Royal Troon.
For more about Els’ superb Open record, visit www.theopen.com/Latest/Ernie-Els-Open-record.
The R&A