WENTWORTH — Ernie Els has apologised to European Tour officials for his outspoken criticism of Wentworth’s greens.
The South African, who has overseen several redesigns of the West Course, was furious at what he perceived to be a lack of watering on Saturday. An angry Els complained that his calls to soften the greens were ignored.
“Ernie Els asked to see me this morning and apologised for his intemperate language,” said European Tour chief executive George O’Grady. “He stated that he had already apologised to all the individuals concerned and offered a substantial donation to the European Tour Benevolent Trust, which I accepted.
“The European Tour now consider this matter closed.”
Els, who has a house on the Wentworth estate, helped resculpt the course three years ago, but his early changes received vocal criticism from a number of top players.
A few more minor tweaks this year were met with approval, but Els was furious with the hard, bouncy condition of the course for this week’s BMW Championship.
