Ernie Els off to a slow start at the HP Byron Nelson Championship – Golf News
Ernie Els carded an even-par 70 in the opening round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship at the TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving, Texas to finish in a 30-way tie that also included his playing partner, Phil Mickelson.
Els started off on the back nine of the course and carded two bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes.
A birdie on the very next hole helped him gain some momentum on Thursday, May 17, 2012. Another birdie on the 16th hole took him back to an equal-par score.
His back-nine performance was almost the same, as he carded a birdie and a bogey each to settle for level-par score.
According to Els, he should have made use of the opportunities he had during the opening day.
He missed several birdie chances that could have earned him a better place while entering the second round on Friday.
Many golf commentators believe that he needs to work on his putting technique, as two of the putts stopped within an inch to the hole and four stopped within the range of one foot from the cup.
“I left a few putts on the edges, but you’ve got to be spot on,” Els said. “The greens are perfect. I can’t complain about anything. I just have to make more putts”.
Despite an average performance, Els is confident to make a good run in the upcoming rounds and surge on the leaderboard.
“I still have a lot of confidence, but this was a great day to score,” Els said. “If the wind gets up a little this afternoon, maybe we won’t be so far behind the eight-ball”.
Els is currently ranked 43rd in the Official World Golf Rankings and is looking forward to ending his two-year winning drought through a win in this season.
The last time he won a tournament was in 2010 when he registered a victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Thereafter, he lost the grip on his game and also moved out of the top-50 in world rankings.
As a result, he missed the chance of playing the Masters Tournament for the 19th consecutive time in his career.
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