Els hands himself 2-stroke penalty at Wentworth

Ernie Els looked to have posted an opening-round 69 Thursday at the BMW PGA Championship, but after the round the South African handed himself a two-stroke penalty while signing his card.

Els said the infraction occurred at the par-5 12th, when he thought his ball was plugged in the ground. The 47-year-old was permitted to examine the lie under rule 20-1, but realized the ball hadn't embedded.

He placed the ball down in what he thought was the original position, then holed his chip for eagle, but Els felt the contact with the ball was a little too clean.

"I put it back and I hit my chip shot and I just felt uncomfortable by the way the ball came out," Els told Ali Stafford from Sky Sports after his round. "The ball came out way too good so I felt I didn't quite probably put it exactly where I should have. Under the rules you try and put it back the way you think it should be, but I still felt uncomfortable with it, so we took a two-shot penalty. I know deep down the ball wasn't quite where it should be and I wouldn't be able to live with myself."