Ernie Els got his 2016 Masters off to a terrible start, with what scorers thought was a 7-putt, but turned out to be a 6-putt on the par-4 first.
INCREDIBLE!! @TheBig_Easy suffers a NIGHTMARE at #TheMasters hitting a 10 on a par 4. #GoingForGreen #Golf pic.twitter.com/ef9brhINM5
— FOX Sports Asia (@FOXSportsAsia) April 7, 2016
Els reached the green on the first hole at Augusta National Golf Club in three shots but wound up carding a 9 (originally thought to be a 10) on the first hole. At first, a lot of folks thought it was some kind of scoring error. But no.
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The 9 is the worst score ever recorded in the Masters on the 1st hole by a shot. Four players -- Olin Browne in 1998, Scott Simpson in 1998, Billy Casper in 2001, Jeev Milkha Singh in 2007 -- had previous made 8.
Els has been battling the yips since last year, missing several close putts by pushing them way right of the hole. This looks to be a case of that in action.
The four-time major winner has enjoyed a number of close calls in the past at the Masters, including 2004, but the 2016 Masters is apparently not going to be one of them. No champion at the Masters has even played a single hole -- much less the first of the tournament -- in 6 over par.
