Ernie Els Comments on Quintuple Bogey in 1st Round of 2016 Masters

There's nothing like the Masters. It helps ring in the spring and creates a feeling of new beginnings.

Unfortunately for Ernie Els, the beginning of his Masters Tournament was disastrous, as he recorded a quintuple bogey on No. 1, missing five putts from within three feet.

It was originally scored as six missed putts and a sextuple bogey but later confirmed as a five-over nine after he finished his round Thursday.

CBC Sports showed the replay:

Els spoke with the media after his round, per Chip Patterson of CBS Sports:

"

I don't know how I stayed out there. I can't explain it. It's something that I'm sure up there somewhere [in your brain] that you just can't do what you normally do. It's unexplainable. A lot of people have stopped playing the game, you know. It's unexplainable. I couldn't get the putter back. I was standing there, I've got a 3-footer, I've made thousands of 3-footers and I just couldn't take it back.

And then I just kind of lost count after ... I mean, the whole day was a grind. I tried to fight. I'm hitting the ball half-decent, and I can't make it from two feet. 

"

With a score of five over after the first hole of the first major tournament of the season, Els recorded two more bogeys and a double bogey on No. 11 as he sunk to eight over after 18 holes. 

In a tie for 81st with notable names such as Rickie Fowler and Vijay Singh, Els has a lot of work to do if he wants to get within the top 50 on the leaderboard, which would allow him to qualify for the third round of the tournament Saturday.

If he isn't able to scramble and make the cut, it will be easy to point out why after a shocking start for a golfer who has been the runner-up at the Masters twice in his career.