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• South African’s first hole horror show
• Putting woes have been well documented
• Augusta National continues to haunt him
Ernie Els has had his fair share of painful memories at Augusta National. But things took a turn for the worst today, as the 80th Masters got underway.
Els, playing in the company of world No.1 Jason Day, six-putted the first hole to walk off with a nine. It was initially reported as a seven-putt, only to be corrected by officials.
He walked to the second tee six-over-par, an astonishing start to his Masters quest. He would go on to three-putt the second.
“It’s hard to explain. I can’t explain it,” said Els. “It’s something that I’m sure up there somewhere that you just can’t do what you normally do. It’s unexplainable. A lot of people have stopped playing the game, you know, it’s unexplainable.
“I couldn’t get the putter back. I was standing there, I’ve got a three‑footer – I’ve made thousands of three-footers – and I just couldn’t take it back.”
He added: “And then I just kind of lost count. The whole day was a grind. I tried to fight. I’m hitting the ball half decent and I can’t make it from two feet.”
His putting woes have been well documented. Nothing shocks the system, however, quite as much as this performance.
Els has been runner-up at Augusta National on two occasions, most painfully losing to Phil Mickelson in 2004, who played the last 12 holes in five-under. The South African’s worst finish at Augusta during a run from 2000 to 2004 was a tie for sixth.
Last season, he missed a tiddler at the Dunhill Links Championship, with some observers calling it the ‘worst putt of all time’.
Worst putt of all time? https://t.co/BpEAuJv7WH
— Golf Betting Brain (@GolfBetting12) October 1, 2015
Golf isn’t easy. And with the yips, it’s near impossible.
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