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On the morning of April 7, 2016, Ernie Els stood on the first tee of Augusta National set to tee off in what was his 22nd Masters. Even for a veteran like him, a four-time major winner, it’s safe to say that sending a drive off the first tee at Augusta is still a moment he was very much looking forward to.
Things got off to a fine start for Els seeing as how he made contact with the ball on the first tee, something most amateurs in the world would struggle to do given the moment and found himself with a two-foot par putt on the opening hole.
A par on the Par 4 first is a score anyone in the Masters field during any given round would gladly take. It’s a bit of a wonky green and if you miss the green in the wrong spot you’re more often than not going to be writing a five or six on the scorecard.
But again, Els had a tap-in for his par. He was probably already thinking about sending a bomb off of the second tee and getting to red figures with a birdie.
That didn’t happen, though. Instead, Mr. Els walked off the green a Masters record holder after carding a nine, the highest score ever recorded on the opening hole at the Masters.
Yep, it took Els six putts before he could walk off the first green. Five over thru 1 isn’t exactly an ideal spot to be in, but that was Els’ reality back in 2016.
If you’re a golfer with a weak stomach and for some reason haven’t ever seen the clip below, let the record show that I did warn you before you hit play.
That first putting stroke, if you can even call it a stroke, is what nightmares are made of. If you’re anywhere close to being a serious golfer and haven’t woken up in the middle of the night screaming after your brain decided to replay that moment in your dreams then count yourself lucky.
Not one of Els’ putts was outside of three-feet, but he somehow managed to miss the hole again and again and again, then a couple more times.
Throughout the whole video you want to look away, but you simply can’t. Outside of the abysmal first stroke, the moment that may make you physically ill is when he reaches over and tries to tap in for his eight with one hand and catches the lip of the hole.
Els carded an 8-over 80 in the first round before coming out on Friday and firing a 73. He missed the cut that year by three shots.