No gimmes: Els 7-putts No. 1 for a 10 at Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Ernie Els made dubious Masters history in the opening round Thursday, scoring a 10 on the par-4 first hole -- by two shots the highest score on the hole in 80 years of the tournament.

Els, 46, a World Golf Hall of Famer who has won four major championships, 7-putted the first green at Augusta National after chipping from off the green to within 3 feet for what appeared to be an easy par.

But from there, Els could not get the ball in the hole, looking exasperated with each miss. He carelessly one-handed the ninth shot and missed before doing so again and holing for a sextuple-bogey 10.

Els, who won The Open in 2012 using a belly putter, has struggled with the "yips'' in recent…