Triple Major winning Ernie Els found himself confronted by a Tour rules official after his opening round of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.

While Els was taking four shots to get out of a bunker at the par five sixth, a TV anorak watching coverage of the event, phoned to Tour to report a possible breach of the rules.

Ernie Els faced with TV anorak after opening 70 in 2012 Scottish Open. (Photo - www.golfbytourmiss.com)

However while Els walked off with a double bogey ‘7’ and headed into the rest of his round, the Tour viewed footage of the incident and then met with Els after his round of a 70 to advise him of the call but to indicate the South African had not breached the rules.

In fact, all Els had done was to smooth over with his feet the depression he made in playing his first shot which he is allowed to do under the Rules of Golf, and as long as his next shot in the bunker was nowhere near his first, and it wasn’t.

“Some viewer called in to say I did something that I didn’t do and he thought I was kicking and screaming which I wasn’t but there was no penalty,” said Els.

“But that would have been a world record for me to be 10-feet from the green in two and to have walked off with a nine but then a seven in bad enough.

“I was just getting in some bunker practice at six for The Open.

“I was starting to get embarrassed there.  I am sure some links golf course has got me in the past but the first lie was pretty horrendous as it was lying down and I was just trying to hit it out to the left.

“Then it was just a case of me digging a grave but I managed to put that out of the way and then played some decent golf.”