Ernie Els - March 20, 2012

• By Morning Drive Team
• Mar 20, 2012 7:58 AM ET

When Els hosted his charity event for Els for Autism, he had a chance to speak with Morning Drive’s Gary Williams. $725,000 was raised for the foundation during the Pro-Am event at PGA National.

It was an amazing turnout for the event and it gives him a thrill and a great sense of pride to see so many players young and not so young show up to support his foundation and this very important cause. So many players who were in the area for The Honda Classic and the WGC-Cadillac Championship were able to show up to help.

The closer that he and his foundation get to the total amount of money needed for the center to help those with autism, the more exciting it becomes. He and his foundation are trying to do something special for the kids and this is the by far the biggest passion he has had for something in his life. When his son was diagnosed with autism, it changed life for he and his family forever and they even moved to Florida from England so they could get the best treatment for their son.

He had a lot of friends from all over the world come to PGA National to help support the event and his foundation and everyone’s presence helped to make the event special. He is very appreciative of the support that Golf Channel has shown to his foundation since the formation of the foundation.