Ernie Els of South Africa has won the 2002 Asprey Golfer of the Year Award at the end of a remarkable season in which he captured six individual titles worldwide, including the 131st Open Golf Championship.
The 33 year old World Number Three displayed a wonderful consistency throughout the season, beginning with his victory in the Heineken Classic on The European Tour International Schedule in February and culminating in his eight stroke win in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in his native country last weekend.
In between, Els won the Dubai Desert Classic, the Genuity Championship, the Open Championship and a fourth World Match Play Championship at Wentworth Club. The highlight of a superb year was undoubtedly his third Major Championship victory at Muirfield in July, when he beat Australians Stuart Appleby and Steve Elkington and Thomas Levet of France in a play-off.
He also finished third in the Volvo Order of Merit behind compatriot Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington of Ireland with winnings of €2,251,708 (£1,435,717).
A panel from the Association of Golf Writers, Television and Radio met with representatives of The European Tour and Asprey, London, at Surrey County Cricket Club’’s splendid ground, The AMP Oval, to discuss a host of contenders for the Asprey Golfer of the Year Award.
No fewer than a dozen candidates were involved in the debate for the 2002 Award, but in the end Els earned the accolade unanimously ahead of players of the calibre of Sergio Garcia, Goosen, Harrington, Colin Montgomerie, Eduardo Romero, Justin Rose and victorious European Ryder Cup Captain, Sam Torrance.
Goosen and Harrington’’s tense finish to the season, in which they vied for the Volvo Order of Merit title at Valderrama, earned them several notable mentions in the lengthy discussion to select the winner of the yearly award. Rose was also praised for his four successes worldwide in 2002.
Romero won on The European Tour International Schedule at the age of 48 while Garcia was singled out for special mention on the strength of his victories in the United States, Europe and Asia and top ten finishes in all four Major Championships in 2002.
Additionally, Torrance was acclaimed for his inspirational role in Europe’’s 15 ½ - 12 ½ win over the United States at The De Vere Belfry in which the resilient Montgomerie was the leading points scorer with four and a half out of five.
Els, fresh from his record-breaking victory in Sun City last weekend, said: “This is the perfect end to the perfect year. It is a fantastic honour to have been voted Asprey Golfer of the Year and caps a wonderful season in which I finally achieved my lifelong ambition of winning the Open Championship and my wife, Liezl, gave birth to our first son, Ben.
“To win the Open was Muirfield was obviously a tremendous thrill. My goal at the start of the season was to add at least one more Major to my two US Open Championships and I achieved that - although I did have to do it the hard way!
“It was also great to become the first player to win the Dubai Desert Classic for a second time and, as a South African, I was excited about my eight shot win in the Nedbank Golf Challenge last weekend at Sun City where I finished with one of the best rounds of my life.
“It is a great honour to follow so many outstanding names as the Asprey Golfer of the Year - including my good friend, Retief, last year - and I would like to thank the Asprey Panel for voting for me and for the support I have received from all sections of the media during this wonderful year.”
Edward Asprey, Director of Asprey, London, the ultimate authentic British luxury lifestyle house, said: “Ernie Els made an outstanding impact on European and world golf in 2002 and he was head and shoulders above everyone else in terms of his achievements during the season. He is, quite simply, a wonderful golfer and a great ambassador for the game.”
The Asprey Golfer of the Month Award is presented to a European Tour Member each month from January to November for his performance on The European Tour International Schedule and in world wide competition. The 2002 monthly winners were Justin Rose (January and May), José Maria Olazábal (February), Ernie Els (March and July), Retief Goosen (April), Miles Tunnicliff (June), Graeme McDowell (August), Sam Torrance (September), Padraig Harrington (October) and Fredrik Jacobson (November).
