As we continue to wait for the return of Tiger Woods, why don’t we take a moment to consider one of the few guys many thought could challenge him, Ernie Els.

Els won the Honda Classic at the beginning of March and there were many who thought he was on the comeback trail after injuries forced his game to suffer.

But ever since – not much.

It appears putting is Really Hard for the Big Easy. At Firestone, Els was a machine in ball striking, finishing second in greens hit in regulation at 73.6 percent.

But, he finished in a tie for 68th in putts per round, with 30.25.

His putting also killed his chances for the British Open.

Els has admitted his putting has been bad this year, and told the media earlier this year he may be forcing it.

“I still work on my game as hard as I can,” he told the Times Online. “I might not have as much free time as I once did, so when I do get to work on it, I need to focus hard. When you get older, I guess you maybe lose a little bit of patience. Sometimes you force it a little too hard out on the course, and I’ve been doing that quite a lot recently.”

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