Els has a nightmare in Doha
After a day he will want to forget in a hurry, Ernie Els is in danger of missing his first halfway cut on the European tour in six years.
A red-hot favourite for the Qatar Masters in Doha – he is the only player in the world’s top 50 taking part – Els managed only a one over par 73 in the first round.
The world number three, winner of the Dubai Desert Classic last Sunday, trails Swede Pierre Fulke, 423rd in the rankings after a nightmare slump since the 2002 Ryder Cup, by seven strokes.
And as the round came towards its conclusion Els was not even in the top 80.
Only the leading 70 and ties tomorrow night go through to the final 36 holes and the South African last failed to do that on the European circuit at the 1999 German Masters, where he was disqualified for not completing his second round following two shots into water.
His current run of 58 cuts in a row is second in tour history to Bernhard Langer’s 69 between 1991 and 1996.
“I still feel I am swinging well, but I just couldn’t get anything going,” he said. “If we are looking for excuses I was a bit more flat than I have been and it was just one of those days.
“I tried, but I just couldn’t get the ball close.”
In his last 36 tour events Els has had a remarkable 30 top 10 finishes, but in front of a sparse crowd – only about 50 people were watching as he teed off – he was out of sorts from the moment he began with a bogey six.
A pulled second shot and then three putts led to that and then 11 pars in a row before he left his tee shot to the 186-yard 13th short of the green and failed to get up and down.
The 306-yard 16th is almost a give-away birdie at Doha Golf Club, but Els was in the rough again and his chip did not even make the green.
It took him until the 18th to get a birdie on his card, chipping dead from the back of the green at the 581-yard hole.
Dubliner Paul McGinley, the only member of last September’s Ryder Cup team present, did not have a bogey, but birdied only the par five first for a one under 71.
“Any round without a bogey you’ve got to be happy, especially with rough as thick as this, bur 30 feet rather than inside 10 feet,” commented McGinley.
Peter Lawrie shot a par round of 72. Damien McGrane is three over after a 75, Gary Murphy five over after a 77.
Fulke was in the world’s top 40 when he qualified for the Ryder Cup, but his last top 10 finish was nearly 18 months ago.
Fellow Swede Henrik Stenson and Australian left-hander Richard Green shared second place following 67s, but one bad drive led to Europe’s new Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam tumbling off the leaderboard.
On a course where he was runner-up in 2000 Woosnam covered his first 14 holes in four under par to be only one shot off the pace. But then he hooked into the desert scrub and ran up a triple bogey seven.
The ball was lying in amongst rocks and taking a penalty drop would have meant going back 50 yards and taking the green of the long par four out of range.
So the 47-year-old former world number one decided to have a go, but instead of hitting the ball his club connected with a rock.
It did not improve things and at a second look Woosnam opted for the drop and took his punishment.
In the three remaining holes he had two bogeys and a birdie for a level par 72.
“I got absolutely stuffed,” said Woosnam. “It was 50-50 whether I got the ball, but I was just trying to advance it.”
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