Four-time major winner Ernie Els suffered a nightmare start to the Masters on Thursday, taking an incredible seven putts on the opening hole.

Els, who thought he had conquered the dreaded “yips” earlier this season, looked set to save par on the 445-yard par four after missing the green with his approach but hitting an excellent pitch.

However, the 46-year-old missed from three feet and needed six more attempts to get the ball in the hole, the last two being taken with one hand as his frustration understandably soared.

The resulting sextuple-bogey 10 is the highest score on the hole in Masters history, surpassing the eights taken by Olin Browne and Scott Simpson in 1998, Billy Casper in 2001 and Jeev Milkha Singh in 2007.

Els, who finished second at Augusta National in 2000 and 2004, somehow regrouped sufficiently to hit his approach to the par-five second to 25 feet, but three-putted for par to remain six over.