"I'll blame Mark King on that one": Ernie Els explains the story behind his 'Big Easy' nickname 

Ernie Els, popularly known as 'The Big Easy', is a PGA Tour veteran and former World No.1 with over 70 professional victories, including 19 on the PGA Tour. He also has four Major wins.

The 55-year-old currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and recently explained how he came to be known as 'the big easy.' He said (via PGA TOUR Champions on X):

"Well, Big Easy came from back in my days with TaylorMade back in the 90s. I remember winning the US Open in 97. Mark King was the marketing man at TaylorMade in those days. You know, I was always like the Big Easy golf swing, but you know he came up with a Big Easy kind of nickname. So I'll blame Mark King on that one."

Mark King is the former CEO of TaylorMade. As per his LinkedIn, he was the CEO of the sports equipment company from 2002 to 2014.

Ernie Els was a staff player for TaylorMade Golf and won the 1997 US Open and 2002 Open Championship with them. When asked how often he heard the nickname from players and fans, Els said:

"All the time. It's stuck now, you know, it's really stuck through the years. Most of the guys call me Easy, Big Easy, whatever. The fans like it, it's kind of, it rolls off their tongue pretty well. I used to be kind of one of the taller players, but I'm just blending in now. There's a lot of young kids at my size and bigger. So, you know, things have changed since the 97."

The South African player is 6 foot 3 inches tall. The current World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is of the same height as that of Els. Tony Finau, Dustin Johnson, Harris English, Ludvig Aberg, and Bubba Watson are some of the tallest golfers in the world right now.

When asked if he liked the nickname, Ernie Els said:

"Yeah, I like it. You got to ask my family if I'm really the Big Easy. Some of the times I'm not, my caddies included, through the years. You know, we're very competitive, but I like to think that for the most part, I'm an easygoing guy and, you know, my golf swing is what it is, you know, I don't feel like I'm swinging that slowly, but I guess it looks easy. So I'll go with that."

Ernie Els will next compete in the 2024 Charles Schwab Cup Championship from November 7 to 10 at Phoenix Country Club in Phoenix, Arizona.

---

A look at Ernie Els' performance in 2024

Ernie Els has had a great 2024 season. In 22 starts on PGA Tour Champions, he has had three wins, 10 top-10 finishes, and 16 top-25 finishes. He is currently positioned first in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

Els won the 2024 Principal Charity Classic by two strokes over Stephen Ames. He won the 2024 American Family Insurance Championship in playoffs with a par on the first extra hole. He also won the 2024 Kaulig Companies Championship by one stroke over Yang Yong-eun.

Let's take a look at Ernie Els' performances in the 2024 season:

2024 PGA TOUR Champions Tournaments

• Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai: T12 (66-67-72, 205, -11)
• Chubb Classic: T3 (66-69, 135, -9)
• Cologuard Classic: T32 (68-66-75, 209, -4)
• Hoag Classic: T33 (70-68-72, 210, -3)
• The Galleri Classic: T17 (68-74-70, 212, -4)
• Insperity Invitational: T37 (72-72, 144, E)
• Regions Tradition: T3 (65-68-70-71, 274, -14)
• KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship: T6 (70-64-69-70, 273, -11)
• Principal Charity Classic: 1 (62-68-65, 195, -21)
• American Family Insurance Championship: 1-x (71-64-69-4, 204, -12)
• DICK'S Open: T13 (67-73-66, 206, -10)
• U.S. Senior Open Championship: T8 (69-71-69-65, 274, -6)
• Kaulig Companies Championship: 1 (70-68-64-68, 270, -10)
• Boeing Classic: T2 (69-69-68, 206, -10)
• Rogers Charity Classic: T10 (69-65-66, 200, -10)
• The Ally Challenge: T35 (70-72-70, 212, -4)
• Sanford International: T3 (70-66-67, 203, -7)
• PURE Insurance Championship: T22 (74-70-68, 212, -4)
• Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS: T34 (71-69-72, 212, -4)
• SAS Championship: T45 (70-73-74, 217, +1)
• Dominion Energy Charity Classic: T20 (71-72-69, 212, -4)
• Simmons Bank Championship: T12 (69-71-65, 205, -11)

2024 PGA TOUR Tournaments

• The Open: Withdrawn (82, +11)