Rickie's $1 Million Ace Prompts Another $1 Million Match

Rickie Fowler's impromptu ace on the $1 million hole-in-one hole at the Els For Autisum fundraiser when (understandably) viral.

As Jeff Babineau at Golfweek.com explains after talking to Ernie Els, there was so much more to the entire story and what it all meant to Els' effort to raise money for autism research. Most notably, a matching $1 million donation from Johan Rupert brought the tally for one Monday--one Monday!--to nearly $3 million for the Els foundation.

Els, standing in the middle of the 10th hole at Copperhead at the Valspar pro-am, lets out a hearty laugh retelling his tale.

“I said, ‘Hit a good one.’ Pitched once, Bang! In (the hole). I’m standing there, like, ‘This just happened?’ I think Rory (McIlroy) and Louis Oosthuizen were the first to him, giving high-fives, slapping him. I got to him. Man, I wanted to toss him around.

“I was like ... amazing. You’re blessed. It’s like a miracle.”