Autism Dad Ernie Els WINS British Open - Did it for son

Ernie Els knew he had to keep the putts rolling in for his son, Ben - Other Sports - Sport - Evening Standard

Ernie Els has revealed how his autistic son Ben was the ­inspiration behind one of the greatest comebacks in Open Championship history.

Els had to call on all his immense talent at Royal Lytham and St Annes to fight from six shots down at the turn in yesterday’s final round and card a back nine in four under par that proved just good enough to beat an imploding Adam Scott by one shot.

But always in the back of the South African’s mind was the thought that nine-year-old Ben was glued to the drama unfolding on television back home at Wentworth in Surrey. Els, who was celebrating his fourth Major victory 18 years after he claimed his first, said: “I made a lot of putts with Ben in mind because I knew he was watching.

“He loves it when I hit golf balls. He loves the flight of the ball and the sound. He gets really excited and I wanted to keep him excited, so I made a lot of putts for him.”

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