Ernie Els

Ernie Els's Peak: 2004 form rates 94 overall among the all-time greats, an Apex Ball-Striker profile built around power graded A+, which tops every other attribute on the card.

• At A+, Els's power rating is comfortably above tour-average (76th percentile of the legends pool) — 6 of the other 25 players in the pool rate higher. How far the ball goes off the tee — long hitters shorten every hole.
• Accuracy A- — modestly above average in the legends pool; 12 of the other 25 players in the pool rate higher. How often the ball finds the fairway and stays out of trouble.
• Iron Play sits at A+ for Els, modestly above average across the legends pool: 8 of the other 25 players in the pool rate higher. Precision from the fairway into the green — the single biggest driver of low scores.
• At A, Els's short game rating is on the stronger side of average (64th percentile of the legends pool) — 9 of the other 25 players in the pool rate higher. Scrambling around the green — chips, pitches, and bunker shots that save par.
• Putting sits at A for Els, a shade above the pool average across the legends pool: 8 of the other 25 players in the pool rate higher. Holing putts, especially the ones inside ten feet that turn pars into birdies.
• At A, Els's course iq rating is on the stronger side of average (52nd percentile of the legends pool) — 12 of the other 25 players in the pool rate higher. Course management and shot selection — playing the smart shot, not just the bold one.
• At A, Els's nerve rating is a mild soft spot (28th percentile of the legends pool) — 18 of the other 25 players in the pool rate higher. Composure in contention — how a golfer performs with the tournament on the line.
• At A, Els's consistency rating is modestly above average (52nd percentile of the legends pool) — 12 of the other 25 players in the pool rate higher. How tightly a golfer's scores cluster around their average, round after round.
• At A, Els's engine rating is on the stronger side of average (60th percentile of the legends pool) — 10 of the other 25 players in the pool rate higher. Stamina and durability across a long season — fewer withdrawals, less late-year fade.

Apex Ball-Striker. Built around the tee shot and the approach: when power and iron play both sit this high, a lot of holes turn into a wedge and a putt for birdie.

The closest attribute profiles in the legends pool belong to Arnold Palmer (93% similar), Dustin Johnson (93% similar) and Gene Sarazen (89% similar) — three builds that would feel familiar to play.

• Arnold Palmer,
• Dustin Johnson,
• Gene Sarazen

This profile's course fit lines up best with Masters Tournament (Major), U.S. Open (Major) and THE PLAYERS Championship (Flagship) — the three events on the schedule that reward this exact mix of attributes the most.

• Masters Tournament — Major
• U.S. Open — Major
• THE PLAYERS Championship — Flagship

Legends aren't priced for Salary Cap — Ernie Els unlocks wholesale, gold-accented, alongside the rest of the Peak: 2004 pool inside Legends mode, where every build gets the same nine zones and no budget to manage.

2004: won 4 times worldwide incl. Memorial + WGC, runner-up at Masters (to Mickelson) and Open (Hamilton playoff), 6 top-10s in majors — arguably his best year; 4 majors overall. 'The Big Easy' — effortless power, everything else 8s. Ratings on this card are editorial judgment, not official statistics — see the methodology page for how they are derived.

Every rating on this page is a 1–11 editorial judgment, not a live statistic — see how ratings and the season simulation work.