In case you missed it yesterday, Ernie Els, moved way up on my list of favorite golfers!
Why?! You ask…
Well, I called a bunch of my buddies on the tour to wish them luck at The Masters like I usually do… We chatted about golf obviously, and I explained that my putting was struggling the other day and how it was frustrating. A couple of them told me, “Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. You just have to brush it off and keep going!”.
Right. I thought to myself.
Then, my pal Ernie Els steps up on the first hole and takes on for the team.
The team, in this scenario, is all of us amatuer golfers who struggle on the green every once in a while.
Ernie was within 3 ft, yes 3ft, the type of shot you would expect pro’s to just pick up the ball and walk away because it is a gimmie.
Ernie took his shot…. HE MISSED?!?! What?
Then we went on to miss the next 3 putts to ultimately end up with a total of 6 putts! Ouch!
Have a look at the video here:
After this WORST FIRST HOLE IN MASTERS HISTORY, Ernie finish the rest of the round shooting only 3 over par, for a total of +8.
If this was me, I would be on tilt, and the rest of the round would be full of boogies! But Ernie pulled it together pretty well.
So, I just want to say THANK YOU ERNIE!!
Thank you for being a nice guy and showing me that anyone can miss those putts.
Thank you for showing me that it is possible to regroup and play well after this happens.
Thank you for reminding me that I should never pick up the ball on the green and assume it is a gimmie.
You took one for the team on a world stage. That takes guts, and that’s why you moved up on my list of favorite golfers!
Good luck in the rest of the tournament. You can check out the Leader Board Here.
-R
