The 150th playing of the Open Championship teed off earlier Thursday morning with the best players in the world taking to one of the most iconic courses in the world: St. Andrews.
Among those on the course today was Ernie Els, a two-time Open Champion. Those wins came in 2002 and 2012, so it stands to reason that Els should be in competition for another major win in 2022.
The 52-year-old got off to a great start, carding a birdie on his first two holes. A minor setback with a bogey at No. 4 didn’t deter the four-time major champion, though.
Els found four more birdies to sit at five-under par on the day after No. 12. Unfortunately, he closed with a bogey and a double-bogey to finish the day at two-under.
Still, fans were impressed with his performance.
“Ernie Els at The Open. Every 10 years, like clockwork,” golf writer Jason Sobel joked.
“What a delight to watch Ernie Els in full flight once again. Can he sustain this? That’s kind of missing the point. Just enjoy the show!” another fan said.
“Love seeing Big Easy Ernie Els at the top of the leaderboard! One of my favorite swings of all-time. Hope he hangs around all 4 days,” a third fan said.
Can Els back up his first round with another solid round on Friday and make the cut?