Ernie Els bogeyed the first on Friday in the opening round of the PGA Tour Champions Ascension Charity Classic, but then he opened the scoring throttle with a five-under-par 66 to give him a share of third.
After that opening bogey, he made two birdies on the front nine on the second and the eighth. There were two birdies in a row immediately after the turn on 10 and 11, but he dropped another shot on the par-three 12th. He made three more birdies on his way in, however, and he finished the round just one off the lead which was shared by Padraig Harrington and Bernhard Langer.
Harrington was bogey-free for his six-under-par 65, and Langer started with an eagle-two on the first hole to get going in style. He had six birdies and two bogeys on the rest of his card to stay level with Harrington who is probably the hottest player on the PGA Tour Champions right now.
The other South African in the field, David Frost, opened with a one-over 72. Alan McLean, formerly south African and now playing out of Canada, carded a three-over-par 74.
