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Ernie Els’ hot putting leads to first-round 66 at TPC

Ernie Els watches his tee shot at No. 10 on Thursday during the first round of the Players Championship.

Ernie Els watches his tee shot at No. 10 on Thursday during the first round of the Players Championship.

(Chris O’Meara / Associated Press)
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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.

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“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.

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“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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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.

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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%).

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