Ernie Els was just one shot off the lead after the first round on Thursday of the PGA Tour Champions season-opener, the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai Golf Club in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.
Els made seven birdies and a bogey to card a six-under-par 66 to share third with KJ Choi of Korea, and Americans Brett Quigley and Steve Stricker. They were one shot behind Fiji’s Vijay Singh and Steven Alker of New Zealand.
Els made three birdies on the front nine, and three more up to the 14th, before dropping his only shot of the day on the 15th. He clawed that bogey back with a birdie on the 17th.
Behind him and the others on six-under were six players in a share of seventh on five-under.
