Press Release: Ocean Club
March 15, 2001
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- The luxury Ocean Club resort on Paradise Island in The Bahamas has named Ernie Els,
two-time U.S. PGA Open Championship winner, the resident professional for its exclusive Ocean Club Golf Course.
The course opened last December and played host to two major televised golf tournaments in its first two months
of operation including the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational.
Els will represent the legendary Paradise Island hideaway, internationally lending his name and image to the Ocean
Club resort's global marketing efforts. In addition to displaying the Ocean Club logo on his golf bag during tournaments
and performing two golf clinics a year, the South African- born Els will own a home at the Ocean Club Estates,
a collection of exclusive beachfront, golf-side and harbor-view private homesites adjacent to the Ocean Club resort
and golf course.
``It is with great pleasure that we welcome a fellow South African and one of the world's leading golfers to the
Ocean Club and Paradise Island,'' said Sol Kerzner, chairman and chief executive officer of Sun International Hotels,
owner and operator of the Ocean Club. ``Ernie's outstanding record of achievement brings an additional element
of prestige to this course which is already becoming known as one of the finest resort playing fields in the Americas.
Our goal is to establish the Ocean Club as a superb golf vacation experience and Ernie's involvement with our company
is a major element in that effort.''
Born in Johannesburg, Els turned professional in 1989, after taking up the game of golf at the age of nine and
becoming a scratch golfer at 14. He won the U.S. Open Championship in 1994 and 1997 and, in 2000, finished second
in that prestigious event as well as the Masters Tournament. Els is rated number two in the world on the Sony World
ranking for the year 2000.
He has also won the Buick Classic back to back in 1996 and 1997, the 1995 Byron Nelson Golf Classic, the 1999 Nissan
Open, the 2000 International Presented by Qwest and other PGA events. Internationally, Els has won virtually every
tournament played in South Africa as well as the Johnnie Walker World Championship, the Toyota World Match Play
Championship and 1999 and 2000 back to back wins of the Million Dollar Golf Challenge at Sun City in South Africa.
He has represented his country more than a dozen times in the Dunhill Cup, World Cup and Presidents Cup. Els is
currently the PGA Tour's third highest money leader, with career earnings of more than $9 million.
The new 18-hole, par-72, 7123-yard Ocean Club Golf Course, on the site of the former Paradise Island Golf club,
was designed by the internationally renowned player and golf architect Tom Weiskopf to emphasize meticulous seaside
greens and tee settings, alternating fairways, lakes and a new centrally located clubhouse. The course, under the
management of the prestigious Troon Golf organization, debuted with two major golf events, the 2000 Office Depot
Father/Son Challenge and the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational tournaments featuring today's top names in golf
and entertainment. Both events were televised on NBC.
The Ocean Club, originally the private estate of A&P heir Huntington Hartford II, just emerged from a major
$100 million renovation and expansion to offer 106 rooms and suites in an exclusive atmosphere of luxury and elegance
in the midst of an elaborate terraced garden modeled after those at the Chateau de Versailles. Ocean Club amenities
include butler service, afternoon strawberries and champagne delivered to guestrooms, a CD and DVD library and
thrice-daily maid service.
In addition to championship golf, the Ocean Club features a tennis club, a full range of water sports, a formal
fresh-water swimming pool, and miles of ocean and pristine beach. Dining opportunities include the chic beachfront
Dune, created by the internationally acclaimed chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the historic Courtyard
Terrace, one of the most romantic restaurants in The Bahamas and Caribbean, and two less formal options, the Beach
Bar & Grill and the Poolside Restaurant. Ocean Club guests also have full access to the facilities of Sun International's
nearby Atlantis, Paradise Island resort including a casino, 38 restaurants and lounges, the world's largest marine
habitat and recreational activities and entertainment.
For further information about the Ocean Club telephone 800-321-3000, or visit online at http://www.OceanClub.com.
SOURCE: Ocean Club