The four-time major finished his opening round on 8 over par 80, which is a relatively decent score considering his terrible start.

Els, who has long been criticised for his putting, recorded a quintuple bogey on the first hole to start his campaign for a first-ever Green Jacket with a nine.

At first the commentators indicated that Els recorded a 10 on the first hole, but the official scorers put it down as 9, which meant he took six putts to sink the ball.

Going into the second round on Friday, Els lies tied for 81st, 14 shots behind leader and defending champion, Jordan Spieth, of the USA.

Louis Oosthuizen is the leading South African in the field, back in shared 21st after a par round.

Brandon Grace is on three over par, the 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel is four over, and the 2008 champion, Trevor Immelman, is five over par.

Watch Els' quintuple bogey on the first.