Theodore ernest els is a top-class south african professional golfer who is also a former world number one according to the 'official world golf ranking.' as a child, he played a number of sports, including tennis, cricket, and rugby. He started playing golf at the age of 8. He won the 'eastern transvaal junior championship,' a tennis event, at 13 years of age. Soon, he developed a keen interest in golf. After serving as a 'scratch handicap" in his early teens, he resolved to concentrate on golf. He soon rose to prominence after winning the 'junior world golf championship' in the boys 13-14 category and a few years later, emerged as the youngest-ever winner of the 'south african amateur championship.' this ace golfer turned professional in 1989 and soon earned the epithet of "the big easy" for his impressive height and his fluid golf swing. He has four major golf championship wins among his 71 career victories so far, including two 'us open' championships and two 'the open' championships. He made a record of winning the 'world match play championship' seven times. He also aced the 'european tour order of merit' twice and became the 'european tour player of the year' thrice. He was inducted into the 'world golf hall of fame' in 2011.