Wow, just wow! Ernie Els made dubious Masters history today, doubtless enthusing hackers worldwide in taking seven putts on the first hole.
Posted by Golf Australia on Thursday, April 7, 2016
Ernie Els made dubious Masters history today, doubtless enthusing hackers worldwide.
Extraordinarily after finding the par-four first green in three shots, the South African took six putts in registering a 9, by a shot the highest score on the hole in 80 years of the Masters.
Els, 46, a World Golf Hall of Famer who has won four major championships, had chipped from left of the green to inside 1m with his third for what appeared to be a simple par.
But Els just could not get the ball in the hole.
Looking increasingly exasperated with each miss, he carelessly one-handed the eighth shot and missed before doing so again and holing for a quintuple-bogey.
Four players have made eights on the first hole — Olin Browne and Scott Simpson in 1998, Billy Casper in 2001 and Jeev Milka Singh in 2007.
The highest score on any Masters hole is a 13 with Tom Weiskopf achieving that score at the par-3 12th in 1980, while Tommy Nakajima followed him at the par-5 13th in 1998.