Steele (61) leads through 54 holes at Sony

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Editor’s note: Ernie Els is writing a blog in 2017 and this is his latest installment. For more information on the World Golf Hall of Famer, visit www.ernieels.com To start off, I want to thank everyone at RBC and the fans at the RBC Canadian Open for the warm welcome last week at Glen Abbey. This was my seventh straight appearance in this historic tournament and it’s a pleasure to play in front of the fans here. I’m only sorry I wasn’t around for the weekend. Thing was, I just left myself a lot to do after a scrappy first nine holes on Thursday morning. Still, it was nice to go out there and shoot 4 under on Friday afternoon. I was pushing hard all the way to 18, so it kind of stings when you miss the cut by a single shot. But as I said, the support from the fans was fantastic. All the players appreciate that. Congrats also to Jhonattan Vegas, winning the tournament in back-to-back years. That’s always special.   We’ve now got a week off at home before I tee it up in the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow next week. Obviously my focus is getting myself mentally and physically prepared to give it my best shot. That’s always my mindset. But, as some of you will know, there’s an extra dimension to next week’s championship. It will be the 100th major of my career, having started the ball rolling as a skinny young kid with a mop of blonde hair playing in the 1989 Open at Royal Troon. If someone had told me then that I’d play 100 of these things, I’d have been pretty thrilled to be honest with you. So obviously it’s a proud moment and to mark the occasion we’ve got some fun events planned across social media involving my sponsors, including prize competitions on Twitter. Look out for the #100Majors hashtag next Monday. Today, we’re also launching a new partnership with leading sport scholarship agency, Athletes-USA. As many know, I’m very passionate about cultivating new talents and helping young players get to the next level. The Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation was founded in 1999 specifically for this purpose — to produce successful young leaders and to help develop them to their fullest potential. But scholarships to universities aren’t as common as they are in America. This is where Athletes-USA steps in. They take a look at you, your talent, your grades, and the overall picture to match and place you into the best university. I think that this is a great opportunity for young junior golfers and all student-athletes who are looking to come to America and attend university on scholarship. This is a game-changer for anyone looking to go further. Again, for more information visit the website: www.athletes-usa.com. Okay, that’s it for now. As I said before, look out for lots of activity here on the website and on Twitter @TheBig_Easy from the start of next week, as we begin the countdown to my 100th major.

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NASSAU. Bahamas – In two weeks, Rickie Fowler no longer will be a 20-something. His birthday on Dec. 13 will be his 30th, and with that milestone comes a change in perception. Gone are the days of being considered of the TOUR’s young guns who represent the game’s future. Now the time has arrived to craft his legacy.  The clock, whether symbolic or real, is ticking. “I’ve always heard that 30s were your prime,� Fowler said on the eve of his title defense at this week’s Hero World Challenge. “So we’re just getting into it.� But does that ticking clock come with an increased sense of urgency? Not yet, said Fowler, who has four PGA TOUR wins since getting his card in 2010. While the 2015 PLAYERS Championship remains his signature victory, Fowler has yet to reach the lofty heights of still-in-their-mid-20s friends Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, who’ve collected two FedExCups, four majors and 19 overall TOUR wins in the last four seasons. The comparisons may be a bit unfair, but the difference in pace can’t be discounted. “I look at the next 5-10 years as the time to take advantage of things and make sure that we’re not sitting back and just relaxing,� Fowler said. “Go out and take care of what we want to take care of and see what can happen.� Fowler comes off a 2017-18 season in which he recorded six top-10 finishes in 20 starts, including two seconds (one of which was the Masters). It was, in his words, a “fairly consistent� season. “Put myself in contention a lot, put myself in great positions at the majors,� he added. “Just never got the job done.� Now as he turns 30, it’s time to start completing more jobs. He insists, though, that his definition of a successful season has not changed. “I think as long as you’re always seeing improvement and it’s not just based off wins,� he said. “Yes, I want to win more. If I went off of my checklist or what I ultimately want to do, I haven’t had a successful season. “So I want to win more majors. I want to win more golf tournaments. But in golf, other than Tiger winning at a 30 percent rate, that doesn’t just happen. So you have to kind of look at the glass half full, especially if you’re talking about staying motivated and keep wanting to move forward. If you look at the negatives or downside of not winning, man, it’s going to be a long road. … “I’ve just always tried to go kind of a glass half-full, keep moving forward.� So get ready for a big push the next 10 years for Fowler. His legacy is on the line. When he celebrates his 40th birthday on Dec. 13, 2028, he’ll have a much better understanding of how he rates as a pro golfer. “I would say 40s is a little bit more of where we’d look at prime … in the rearview mirror. So I’m looking forward to these next 5-10 years of taking advantage of them and making them count.� STENSON AND HIS CADDIE: Henrik Stenson will continue to work with new caddie Scott Vail while he takes a break from Gareth Lord, who has been on Stenson’s bag since 2013. Stenson and Vail first worked together at the European Tour event in Dubai two weeks ago. Stenson said the partnership could remain for the foreseeable future. “There’s a high chance Scotty will continue,� Stenson said Wednesday. “We’re in the dating stage. We’ll see where it takes us.� Stenson, who took five weeks off after playing the Ryder Cup, finished tied for 12th in Dubai. LAST MAN IN: Keegan Bradley wasn’t originally scheduled to compete in the Hero World Challenge, but he got the last-minute invite when Tommy Fleetwood withdrew. It’ll be his first start in this event since 2015, when he finished when the host course was Isleworth in Florida. “Coming to this tournament’s a no-brainer for us,� said Bradley, who won the BMW Championship during the FedExCup Playoffs. “It’s a real testament to how you’ve played not only this year, but over the past two years because of how the world ranking points work. It’s a big deal to play in this tournament. It’s a great way to close out the year, a great place to come.� Bradley didn’t even mind the additional travel, even though it’s already been a busy fall of travel. He made the trip to Malaysia to play the CIMB Classic, flew back to the U.S. for a week, then flew back to Asia for the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China. Asked why he didn’t just go ahead and play THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in Korea while he was already in Asia, Bradley just shrugged. “Now looking back on it, it might have been a mistake,� he said. WINNERS IN THE FIELD: Of the 18 players in Albany this week, two already have posted wins on the PGA TOUR – Xander Schauffele (at WGC-HSBC Champions) and Bryson DeChambeau (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open). Both players are ranked inside the top 10 in the FedExCup standings.

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