Ernie Els Has Positive DNA at Congressional
Ernie Els has a memorable history with Congressional Country Club.
Returning to a venue where you’ve won a major, you have a little giddyup in your step, but this return is on a course that has changed considerably, with the most glaring change being the elimination of hundreds of trees. The greens are substantially different as well.
Yet, for Els, the DNA of Congressional is sympatico with his own, so when he played his first round in some time over the venerable course, it was old hat.
“It was consistent,” Els said of his bogey-free 3-under 69 on Thursday at the Senior PGA Championship. “It was a round I wanted to have. I would love to have had a couple better. At the end, there I had a couple of chances.”
It was in 1997 that Els started his first round at Congressional in the U.S. Open.
Three years earlier, Els had won his first U.S. Open in a playoff at Oakmont Country Club, making each appearance in the national championship an opportunity to add to his resume.
The 1-over 71 was a tie for 18th, six shots off the lead of Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie.
Els would go on to record the next three rounds under par, including a 1-under 69 on Sunday that included a finish of five consecutive pars to beat Montgomerie by one shot.
Now Els is just two back of Australian Cameron Percy at 5-under.
“This one feels more like a major. Last week they called it a major, but it's just a nice big Champions Tour event,” Els said of last week’s Regions. “But this one has got more of that feel. It's got a golf course with history, and it's got some prestige here. So, this one feels good. It feels big. It's a good feeling to have on this course.”
Ernie Els Has Positive DNA at Congressional first appeared on Athlon Sports on May 22, 2025
