1992 - 1996

In 1992, at the age of only 22, Ernie won the ‘Big Three’ tournaments on the South African Tour: the SA Open, the SA PGA and the SA Masters, along with three other events in the same season.

In 1993 Ernie won the prestigious Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Japan against a world class field. It was a real breakthrough victory and opened doors to other tournaments all over the world.

In 1994, he won his first major championship, the US Open at Oakmont, after a three-way 18-hole play-off (against Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomerie) and a subsequent two-way, two-hole sudden death playoff (against Loren). Ernie also won the Dubai Desert Classic, breaking the Emirates Course Record in the first round with an 11-under par 61, and the Johnnie Walker World Championship, the Sarazen World Open and his first World Matchplay Championship at Wentworth.

In 1995 Ernie again won the South African PGA, the Bell’s Cup, and then went on to win the Byron Nelson Classic in Dallas. He also successfully defended his World Matchplay Championship title at Wentworth, becoming only the fourth player in the history of the World Matchplay to win successive titles.

In 1996 Ernie won the South African Open Championship. His schedule saw him playing extensively in the US, where he won the Buick Classic. He had a third successive win at the World Matchplay Championship and the following month won the Johnnie Walker Super Tour Championship. Later that year Ernie teamed up with Wayne Westner to win the World Cup of Golf title for South Africa, also winning the individual title.