WATCH: Ernie Els puts Major party on hold to fly to 152nd Open

Former two-time winner of the Open Championship, Ernie Els, will head to this week’s playing of the 152nd Open at Royal Troon as a first-time Senior Major winner on the PGA Tour Champions in the USA.

Els, 54, who’s been playing senior PGA Tour gold for the last four years, won his first Senior Major on Sunday at the Kaulig Companies Championship with a score of 10-under-par, and a one-stroke victory over YE Yang.

With the victory Els became the PGA Tour Champions’ first three-time winner this season, winning for the sixth time on the 50-and-over tour. He will be eligible to tee it up at next year’s PGA Tour’s Players Championship at Sawgrass.

“This is going to still have to settle in a little bit,” Els told reporters after his win at Firestone. “It was quite a day.”

The “Big Easy” and arguably South Africa’s most popular golfer also had put on hold any thoughts of celebrating on Sunday night.

He and fellow tour golfer Darren Clarke had other commitments, namely boarding a plane to the UK for this week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon. Both Els and Clarke qualify to play in the year’s fourth Major in the UK as former winners of the Claret Jug.

Els won four Majors on the regular tour, the US Open in 1994 and 197 and the Open in 2002 and 2012.

The 152nd Open tees off on Thursday and besides Els, the other South Africans in the field are Louis Oosthuizen (as a winner from 2010), Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Dean Burmester, Darren Fichardt, Thriston Lawrence, Ryan van Velzen, and amateur Altin van der Merwe.