ERNIE Els started his opening round of the Masters with a nine on the first hole, the four-time major winner taking six putts from just three feet.
Here, Press Association Sport looks at five other nightmare rounds or moments at Augusta National.
1: Rory McIlroy, 2011
McIlroy went into the final round with a four-shot lead and seemingly on course to claim his first major title. Despite struggling to a front nine of 37 the Holywood man was still in front, but it all went horribly wrong from there. On the 10th his hooked drive hit a tree and rebounded in between the cabins way left of the fairway and not far from the tee.
He needed a wood for his third, went left again and then hit another tree with his pitch to run up a triple bogey. Even with a three-putt bogey on the next he was still in it, but with his mind seemingly scrambled, he four-putted for a double bogey on the 12th. McIlroy eventually signed for a closing 80 to finish 10 shots behind winner Charl Schwartzel.
2: Billy Casper, 2005
Casper was one of three players, along with Doug Ford and Gay Brewer, who received letters from Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson several years earlier, suggesting they no longer played due to their age. However, 1970 champion Casper had lost weight and felt fit enough to make one final appearance, only to wake up on Thursday morning with a bad back.
The 73-year-old went on to shoot a 34-over-par 106, but purposely failed to turn in his card so his score did not count and withdrew from the tournament. “I have the card in my pocket and I’m going to frame it,” said Casper, whose score included a 14 on the par-three 16th.
3: Tommy Nakajima, 1978
IT is fair to say 1978 is a year Nakajima would like to forget. In contention for the Open Championship at St Andrews, Nakajima putted into the famous Road Hole bunker on the 17th and took four shots to escape. And earlier in the year at Augusta, the Japanese player took 13 shots to complete the par-five 13th. After hitting his fourth shot into Rae’s Creek, Nakajima opted to play the ball instead of taking a drop.
However, it popped straight up in the air and landed on his foot, costing him a two-shot penalty. When he handed his club to his caddie, it slipped out of his hand and fell into the creek, incurring another two-stroke penalty. He chipped his 10th shot over the green, chipped back on and two-putted for what was the highest single-hole score in tournament history at the time.
4: Tom Weiskopf, 1980
TWO years after Nakajima’s troubles, his score of 13 was equalled on the previous hole by former Open champion Weiskopf, who had already endured his share of agony at Augusta by finishing runner-up a record-equalling four times. Weiskopf’s tee shot on the 12th spun back into Rae’s Creek and from there he went to the drop area and dumped four more balls into the water.
Weiskopf went on to shoot 85 and said: “I’m extremely embarrassed. I’ve never been so disappointed. But I’ll be there to tee off tomorrow.” He shot 79 in the second round to miss the cut by 18 shots.
5: Greg Norman, 1996
Norman had equalled the course record - and lowest score in any major – with an opening 63 and took a six-shot lead over Nick Faldo into the final round. However, after struggling to the turn in 38 to see his lead cut to two, Norman completely unravelled on the back nine in the face of a relentless pursuit from Faldo.
Bogeys on the 10th and 11th were followed by a double bogey on the 12th and Faldo suddenly found himself with a two-shot lead. Both players birdied the 13th and 15th before Norman’s chances were ended by another double bogey on the 16th, the Australian eventually signing for a 78. Faldo birdied the last to complete a 67 and win his third green jacket by five shots.
