Haseko (Hawai'i) Inc. has signed "Big Easy" Ernie Els to design the golf course in its master-planned 'Ewa Beach community Ocean Pointe.

The 18-hole course at the planned Hoakalei Country Club will be the first signature links in the state for Els, one of the world's top golfers with a string of professional wins in Hawai'i.

"Els is obviously a big fan of Hawai'i," said Michael Kenny, president of Els' Florida-based design firm Ernie Els Design Ltd. "We're very excited. Hawai'i has such a strong tradition of great golf, and we hope to play a part of that."

Partnering with Els to develop Hoakalei is ClubCorp, a Dallas company that owns or operates about 170 golf courses, country clubs, resorts and private business and sports clubs.

ClubCorp operates the Plaza Club in downtown Honolulu. Hoakalei would be the first Hawai'i golf club for the company, which operates some of the country's biggest and best courses, including the largest golf resort in North America, Pinehurst in North Carolina.

Haseko plans to announce details of the Hoakalei project at a news conference Feb. 20.

The company last year said it projected construction of the course to begin in mid-2007 or sooner along with Ocean Pointe's fourth neighborhood: 901 single-family and multifamily homes, a community facility, and parks between the planned golf course and the military's Barbers Point Golf Course.

Haseko started selling homes at Ocean Pointe, formerly known as Ewa Marina, in May 1998. The company has built and sold nearly 2,000 homes of the roughly 4,850 planned for the community, which also is envisioned to have a hotel, commercial center and marina.

Els, 36, is a force on the PGA Tour, especially in Hawai'i where in 2003 he became the only player to win the Mercedes Championship on Maui and Sony Open at Wai'alae in the same year.

Els also won the Sony Open in 2004 and finished second there in 2005. Els, ranked fifth in the world and coming off knee surgery last year, didn't play in the Sony Open last month.

South Africa-born Els has been designing golf courses since 1997, working with Jack Nicklaus for several years.

Ernie Els Design has created three courses in Maryland, China and South Africa that are open, and has 10 others under planning or construction, including Hoakalei.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.