Reporting from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — From a six putt to a 66, Ernie Els showed his Masters meltdown is behind him as he moved into contention at the Players Championship.
Els needed just 24 putts on his way to his best round at TPC Sawgrass since he recorded a third-round 65 in 1996 - a span of 48 rounds.
Els began Thursday’s round on the back nine and needed just seven putts on his first seven holes to quickly move to five under. During the hot start, Els sank birdies of 19 feet on the 13th hole and 29 feet on No. 15.
“It feels really good,” he said. “That’s what a 66 will do for you.”
Els hit rock bottom last month and became a social media sensation on YouTube, Twitter and Vine when he missed five putts from close range and needed six overall to open the Masters with a 10 on the par-four first hole. This included a stab at the ball that missed from a foot away - one of 39 putts that day - before Els finally finished the hole, and still had 17 to go.
The display led many to wonder if the 46-year-old Hall of Famer had developed the dreaded “yips.” Els instead bounced back with a tie for 14th the following week at the RBC Heritage, closing with a 66.
Even so, Els’ performance Thursday was surprising, despite ideal conditions at TPC. Els had recorded just four top-10 finishes in 22 starts and missed the cut during five of the past six appearances.
“This course has had its way with me,” Els said. “Nice to get one up on the course. We’ll see how it continues.”
Spieth has slow start, rough finish
After a slow start Thursday, Jordan Spieth was cruising along and seemed to have shaken off the rust of a four-week layoff and a final-round collapse last month at the Masters.
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Jason Day of Australia plays a shot on the 15th hole Sunday during the final round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
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Jason Day takes a big divot while playing a shot at No. 14 on Sunday during the final round of the Players Championship.
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Jason Day acknowledges the cheers from spectators on the 13th green during the final round of the Players Championship on Sunday.
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American Matt Kuchar lines up his putt on the 16th green during the final round of the Players Championship on Sunday.
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Hideki Matsuyama of Japan hits his tee shot at No. 8 during the final round of the Players Championship on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass.
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Colt Knost of the United States reacts after almost making a chip on the second hole Sunday during the final round of the Players Championship.
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American Kevin Chappell hits his tee shot at No. 5 on Sunday during the final round of the Players Championship.
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Jason Day hits his tee shot at No. 8 on Sunday during the final round of the Players Championship.
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Justin Thomas of the United States acknowledges the gallery after finishing his round of seven-under 65 on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass.
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Alex Cejka of Germany reacts to his birdie on the 17th green during the third round of the Players Championship on Saturday.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland tees off at No. 17 during the third round of the Players Championship on Saturday.
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Jason Day lines up a putt at the ninth hole on Saturday during the third round of the Players Championship.
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Jason Day of Australia hits from a sand trap at the eighth hole during the third round of the Players Championship on Saturday.
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Kevin Chappell reacts after missing a putt during the Players Championship, where he finished second. (Scott Halleran / Getty Images)
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Russell Knox of Scotland kept his humor at the par-three 17th hole, the famous island green, where he raised his arms triumphantly after making a putt to score nine. He put four shots in the water.
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Hideki Matsuyama of Japan chips onto the 16th green during the third round of the Players Championship on Saturday.
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Ryan Palmer of the United States hits from a greenside sand trap at No. 2 during the third round of the Players Championship on Saturday.
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Ken Duke of the United States lines up a putt for birdie on the ninth green during the third round of the Players Championship on Saturday.
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Jonas Blixt of Sweden tees off at No. 10 during the second round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Friday.
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American Jordan Spieth hits his tee shot at No. 3 on Friday during the second round of the Players Championship.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland watches his chip shot bounce on the ninth green during the second round of the Players Championship on Friday.
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Phil Mickelson follows his shot from the ninth tee during the second round of the Players Championship on Friday.
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Charley Hoffman of the United States tees off at No. 9 at TPC Sawgrass on Friday during the second round of the Players Championship.
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American Cameron Tringale hits from a sand trap at the eighth green on Friday during the second round of the Players Championship.
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Alex Cejka of Germany reacts after missing a birdie putt at No. 6 on Friday during the second round of the Players Championship.
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American Davis Love III putts from the edge of the 17th island green during the second round of the Players Championship on Friday.
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Jason Day of Australia hits his tee shot at No. 11 during the second round of the Players Championship on Friday at TPC Sawgrass.
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Justin Rose of England hits from a fairway sand trap on the second hole Friday during the second round of the Players Championship.
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In this black-and-white image, Henrik Stenson of Sweden hits his tee shot at No. 6 on Friday during the second round of the Players Championship.
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Danny Lee of New Zealand follows through on his tee shot at No. 11 during the second round of the Players Championship on Friday at TPC Sawgrass.
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Jason Day of Australia plays his shot from the 17th tee to the island green during the first round of the Players Championship on Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
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Jason Day acknowledges the fans at the ninth green during the first round of the Players Championships on Thursday, when he would tie the course record with a 63.
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Shane Lowry of Ireland shakes hands with caddie John McLaren after shooting a seven-under 65 during the first round of the Players Championship on Thursday.
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Justin Rose of England bounces the golf ball with his driver as he wait to tee off at No. 11 on Thursday during the first round of the Players Championship. Rose shot a seven-under 65.
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American Dustin Johnson hits from a sand trap alongside the ninth green during the first round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday. Johnson shot a two-under 70.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays from a hillside during the first round of the Players Championship on Thursday. McIlroy would finish at even-par 72.
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American Jordan Spieth drops his club on his follow through after teeeing off at No. 9 on Thursday during the first round of the Players Championship.
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American Rickie Fowler prepares to chip from off the 17th green during the first round of the Players Champioship on Thursday. The defending champion finished at even-par 72.
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Rory McIlroy follows through on his tee shot at No. 15 during the first round of the Players Championship on Thursday at TPC Sawgrass.
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Sergio Garcia of Spain tees off at No. 9 during the first round of the Players Championship on Thursday, when he shot an even-par 72.
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Bubba Watson of the United States watches his tee shot at No. 15 during the first round of the Players Championship on Thursday. Watson would finish at three-under 69.
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Jason Day plays a shot from a bunker at the 11th hole during the first round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday.
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Rory McIlroy tees off at No. 11 on Thursday during the first round of the Players Championship.
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Shane Lowry hits his approach shot at No. 4 on Thursday during the first round of the Players Championship.
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Dustin Johnson plays a shot from the fairway during the first round of the Players Championship on Thursday.
(Sam Greenwood / Getty Images) Three straight birdies moved Spieth to three under with five holes remaining. But Spieth hit just one green in regulation the rest of the way to finish with an even-par 72.
Spieth ended his round with a double-bogey on the par-five ninth hole, needing three shots to reach the green after his approach was too aggressive and found the back bunker. He ended the hole missing a four-foot bogey putt.
Asked what happened, Spieth deadpanned, “I hit it seven times. I hit two fantastic shots, and then not really sure after that.”
Stenson struggles to a 77
World No. 6 Henrik Stenson won the 2009 Players and entered this week among the favorites.
After opening with a five-over par 77, Stenson now will need a monster second round to avoid missing the cut at TPC for the first time since 2011.
Stenson managed just one birdie -- on the tricky par-three 17th hole - and carded four bogeys, as well as a double-bogey on the par-four 18th hole.
Stenson, a Lake Nona resident, entered the day eighth on Tour in greens in regulation, hitting 70.56%. Thursday, he found just 11 of 18 greens (55.5%).
